Greenspeakers Talk at Napier University , Save the Arctic and Successes.

I was very pleased to accompany Sally from Greenpeace Dundee along to speak to some of the students at Napier University's sighthill campus on Tuesday.

There were a good crowd of interested participants and Sally's talk both informed and inspired. She explained a bit about the history of Greenpeace, laid aside a few stereotypical associations and gave an enthusiatic summary of what Greenpeace is all about.

Her slides were informative and iconic - I always love to see those Greenpeace ships in action and there is nothing cuter than a fluffy arctic fox !

 We discussed the core values of Greenpeace : Non- violence, Bearing witness, personal responsibility, independance and Internationalism. Sally gave us an insight into how tensions are lessened in any direct actions when the authorities realise that the activists are from Greenpeace and they are reassured that the protest will be peaceful. Sally felt that this was the core value which stood out for her and I expressed the importance I felt in the way that Greenpeace can bear witness to the world of environmental harm , just by their presence. We have stood outside a lot ( nearly all in fact!) of Shell garages last year and I hope that some of the passers by took the trouble to find out why we were there and learn about the threats facing the Arctic.  

Sally talked about some of her favourite campaigns and what makes Greenpeace different from other environmental NGOs . The way that Greenpeace makes things happens by using Non Violent direct Action is something that always impresses me and that I am proud to be a part of.

We finished with a review of some of our recent sucesses, Asia Pulp and Paper comitting to stop rainforest deforestation , reform of the common fisheries policy, Volkswagen's comittment to cleaner cars and of course Shell's decision to shelf Artic oil exploration for this year! All these sucesses make Greenpeace's activities so worthwhile and I hope that some of you will come along to one of our regular meetings and get involved. There really is something to suit everyone, you can give as much or as little time as you can manage, bring whatever skills you have, learn much and most certainly meet some committed and friendly people.

Thanks Sally for inviting me along and thanks to all the students who came along and participated. Hope to see some of you soon !