Get active

Meet. Talk. Campaign. Have fun. Get results.

Back to Get Active homepage

Something's on the move...

Posted by Barry D - 15 August 2012 at 9:58pm - Comments
by-nc. Credit: Barry D

'...Oh sunshine take me away from here, I'm a needle on a spiral in a groove, And the turntable spins as the last waltz begins, And the weatherman says something's on the move.'

So says the song. 

Back in the '70s Jethro Tull released a series of 'pastoral' albums with a sort of underlying conservation theme. Then came the album 'Stormwatch', which moved off the land onto the ocean with songs about oil exploration and a picture of a giant polar bear wreaking havoc through an oil refinery (above).

Fast forward to today and those ominous echoes from the past are begining to surface. 

In the '70s it was all about North sea oil. But today a different oil boom is about to explode - a boom that could lead to a catastrophic bust.

The Piper Alpha disaster in 1988 woke the oil industry up to the dangers of offshore drilling as the dramatic footage below shows. 

The oil platform was destroyed by a gas leak in july 1988 - killing 167 people - and is still the worst offshore oilfield disaster to date (In terms of human life lost).

Now with the Deepwater Horizon also behind us you would think that we would now be aware of our limitations. 

But as always there is another mountain to climb and a fool who thinks he's invulnerable.

And so it is with climate change ramping up the warnings and the canary falling off its perch, those fools who seldom differ are once again speaking with the one voice.

Last month the voices of reason were raised. They may have fell upon deaf ears but next month those voices are going to shout louder - much louder.

On July 21 Greepeace activists around the globe spoke in harmony as they targeted Shell's farcical attempt to gain a foothold in the Arctic. On September 22, it will all happen again as another Shell day gears up to once again make it clear to Shell they are not welcome in the Arctic.

Watch this space.

Being a volunteer

Interested in helping with our campaigns, but not sure what’s involved?

Help and FAQ

Volunteer updates

Glasgow

Contact

Barry & Colette
07976 818049 or 07838 480268

About Get Active

The Get Active section of our website is updated by Greenpeace volunteers and reflects their passionate and personal opinions.

More about Get Active

Follow Greenpeace UK