Campaign Update: A World beyond Oil
by Ben Ayliffe, climate campaigner
As I write Greenpeace activists from the Esperanza are stopping oil drilling in the icy waters off Greenland in the Arctic.
They evaded the Danish navy yesterday to stop deepwater drilling and the industry's relentless hunt for oil at any cost. They've remained on the rig overnight and we've just received reports that a second Danish navy warship is heading into the area. You can follow the live updates here.
The navy's here to guard Cairn Energy's oil drilling operations off Disko Island in Baffin Bay. Cairn revealed it found gas deep under the sea last week and is confident of finding oil. And lots of it.
We all saw the risks of deepwater drilling with BP's Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. The risks in the colder waters of the Arctic are of a different magnitude. But this is bigger than the Arctic.
If we seek out and burn every last barrel of oil we could well be looking at a six degree rise in global temperatures. This would have cataclysmic and irreversible consequences for our planet.
We need to end our dependency on oil and move to a clean energy future. It's time to go beyond oil.
Please write to the energy secretary Chris Huhne and tell him we need an urgent moratorium on deepwater drilling.
Please visit our new website for live updates. Soon we'll be asking you for ideas to help us create a vision of what a world beyond oil will look like.
Get active locally: Greenpeace volunteers across the UK will be subvertising various adverts to guide people to the new website. If you would like to get involved in these kinds of activities, please contact your local network coordinator.
Stop Climate Chaos: Big Climate Connection
In early November Greenpeace will be asking as many active supporters as possible to meet with their local MP, to lobby for an Energy Bill that rules out dirty polluting coal power stations. Please visit the Big Climate Connection website for more information.
To support this lobby, we are offering free lobbying skills training to anyone who is interested in supporting Greenpeace in this way, on an ongoing basis. For more information please email us.
Training events are planned in:
Southampton on Sunday 19th September
London on Saturday 25th September
Nottingham on Saturday 16th October
Bristol on Saturday 16th October
York on Saturday 23rd October
London on Saturday 23rd October
Glasgow on Saturday 30th October
Cardiff on Saturday 30th October
Skillshares and training events
A chance for active supporters, new and old, to come together to learn and share skills, to hear campaign updates, and to find out more about how Greenpeace works.
Southern (Bournemouth) Saturday 11th September - Please email Naveed to book your place.
Scotland (Perth) Saturday 6th November - Please email Jo to book your place.
Northern (Kettlewell) Saturday 20th&21st November. Please email Jo to book your place.
Events for network coordinators and key activists are planned in Birmingham and London.
Greenpeace organises regular introductory training events in street campaigning and events are planned for Brighton, York, and London. Dates tbc.
If you are interested in taking direct action with Greenpeace you need to attend a one day NVDA training course. To attend one of these training events you need to get in contact with, and be recommended by your local network coordinator.
NVDA training events are planned for Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and Oxford and an advanced skills workshop is planned for more experienced activists.
Thank you for all of your hard work helping Greenpeace campaign. It's much appreciated.
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