Greenpeace Blog

Building the world's largest polar bear - Part One

Posted by Louise Alexander - 27 August 2013 at 7:06pm - Comments
All rights reserved. Credit: © Louise Alexander
Constructing Aurora

Louise Alexander is a multi-skilled actor with a keen interest in puppetry. She works part-time at Puppet Centre as their administrator and is also the director of her own company, LAMA Creative, which undertakes digital design and theatre making.

It’s not every day the opportunity to help create a giant polar bear puppet the size of a double decker bus comes along. For an actor, theatre maker and wannabe puppeteer this is pretty irresistible stuff. But that’s not what’s at the heart of Aurora; that’s a whole other kettle of fish.

Article tagged as: arctic, aurora, aurora is coming, polar bear, SaveTheArctic

Banned: video from our Shell Belgian Grand Prix protest

Posted by Brian Fitzgerald - 27 August 2013 at 2:31pm - Comments

The video of our hijack of Sunday's Shell-sponsored Belgian Grand Prix ceremony has been pulled by YouTube following a "copyright" (aka "embarrassment") complaint. While the take down appears to have been ordered by the Formula 1 organisers, we suspect Shell is pleased. They may even be behind it. Now, why would we think that?

Article tagged as: arctic drilling, belgian grand prix, formula one, oil, Save the Arctic, shell, videos

Not for shale! Anti-fracking group hits the streets of Lancashire

Posted by kcumming - 27 August 2013 at 12:49pm - Comments
All rights reserved. Credit: (c) greenpeace

Are you in the market for a nice two bedroom house in the North West? In a previously quiet residential area, close to minor earth tremors, with the potential for high volume traffic and drilling right under your property? Then you’ve come to the right place!

Article tagged as: cuadrilla, fracking, Lancashire

Shark finning sucks. Sort it out New Zealand!

Posted by Willie - 27 August 2013 at 11:07am - Comments
Shark fin soup drives the global shark finning trade.
All rights reserved. Credit: Greenpeace
Shark finning: not big, not clever, not defensible

There’s nothing defensible about shark finning. It’s the marine equivalent of the poachers who kill rhinos to hack off their horns or kill elephants to hack off their tusks. It’s not dissimilar to killing bears or tigers for spurious ‘traditional’ cures either. But it happens out at sea, to animals which don’t have big brown eyes, and which aren’t usually touted as cuddly toys or ‘adoptable’. They rarely win public polls on favourite animals, yet they fill column inches every silly scaremongering summer season in the tabloids.

Article tagged as: hammerheads, hobbits, new zealand, shark finning, sharks, tuna

Shell: it's time to separate the sponsor from the sport

Posted by Kumi Naidoo - 25 August 2013 at 2:12pm - Comments
Exposing Shell's Arctic drilling plans at the Belgian Formula One Grand Prix
All rights reserved. Credit: Greenpeace
Shell spends millions on the safety-conscious grand prix but is bent on risky Arctic drilling

Much like the movement to save the Arctic, Grand Prix fans are made up of all sorts of people. I would know - I was a big fan of the sport growing up.

Is it possible that a lifelong environmental and social justice activist can harbor a secret love of racing? I’d like to think we embrace diversity in the movement and celebrate different points of view.

Article tagged as: arctic drilling, belgian grand prix, direct actions, formula one, oil, Save the Arctic, shell

The Arctic nightmare Russian authorities don’t want you to see

Posted by Christy Ferguson - 24 August 2013 at 7:00am - Comments
All rights reserved. Credit: Greenpeace
We're going in.

I’m on board the Greenpeace icebreaker Arctic Sunrise, about to cross into an area of the Arctic that Russian authorities don’t want us to see. They’ve contravened international law by denying our ship access to an important sea route and tried to shut us out - tried to shut you out. But with the world watching and millions of Arctic Defenders at our sides, we are defying the Russian authorities, claiming our rights to bear witness and to protest, and entering the Kara Sea.

Article tagged as: arctic, bear, christy, climate, ferguson, ice, permission, polar, pole, russia, ship, sunrise, whales

Labour comes out swinging on fracking in Balcombe

Posted by kcumming - 22 August 2013 at 2:33pm - Comments

Freshly delivered into letterboxes in Balcombe - a strongly worded (bordering on downright anti-) fracking leaflet from the local Labour Party.

Article tagged as: Balcombe, cuadrilla, energy, fracking, labour

Fracking 'day of action' rolls out across England

Posted by leila - 19 August 2013 at 2:19pm - Comments
Caroline Lucas arrested
All rights reserved. Credit: Greenpeace
Green Party MP Caroline Lucas arrested

Fracking activists are taking part in a 'day of action' today spanning Balcombe, London and Lichfield.<--break->

Article tagged as: Balcombe, fracking, Lichfield, london, photos, protest

Green groups join forces to 'put the breaks on fracking'

Posted by kcumming - 19 August 2013 at 11:52am - Comments
Green groups logos
All rights reserved. Credit: Greenpeace

Over the weekend, a cross-section of environment and conservation groups issued a joint call to Government to put the brakes on fracking. This is the first time such a large number of influential NGOs have joined together to express their concern. The joint letter was published in the Sunday Times.

4 lessons from the US for countries about to be fracked

Posted by Jesse Coleman G... - 19 August 2013 at 12:00am - Comments
Thou shalt not frack
All rights reserved. Credit: Les Stone Greenpeace

The United States has blessed the world with many wondrous things: atomic bombs and peanut butter; assembly lines and CocaCola. And now there is another American invention posed to spread past our borders and possibly into your water supply: fracking. Fracking is a technique that blasts apart underground shale rock layers using water and chemicals at high pressure.

Article tagged as: fracking, methane, US, water contamination

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