Category Archives: Oceans

Two major oil companies cancel Arctic drilling plans

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Greenpeace activists scale Statoil drilling rig shortly before the company announces its canceling its drilling plans this year

This morning two polar bears scaled Norwegian oil company Statoil’s rig bound for the world’s northernmost drilling sites in the Arctic this summer. Just a few hours later Statoil announced that their Arctic drilling will not take place this year. ConocoPhillips announced today that they too will be cancelling 2014 Arctic drilling plans north of Alaska due to “regulatory irregularities”.

Take action now and tell Secretary of State John Kerry to protect the Arctic!

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William Shatner teams with Greenpeace to protect the Bering Sea

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Today, Greenpeace launched a new video featuring the voice of William Shatner calling for the North Pacific Marine Fisheries Council to protect the Bering Sea canyons from industrial fishing.

Save Kipper features a happy menagerie of domesticated animals–a fish named Kipper, a dog named Sparky, a bird named Boozer, and a cat named Fluffy–all of which have their homes shockingly destroyed by methods ranging from fire to a power saw.

TAKE ACTION NOW TO PROTECT THE BERING SEA! Continue reading →

Brrrrrrrr: Arctic ice loss responsible for our chilly spring

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Although it’s Cherry Blossom festival time in Washington D.C., Greenpeace’s United States headquarters, we’re still bundled in our winter gear. Turns out that the same warmer temperatures causing Arctic ice loss at record-breaking speeds are responsible for the extreme winter weather and cold temperatures experienced in much of Europe and North America. The ice loss in the Arctic broke a previous 2007 record shrinking 18 percent, according to data published by National Snow & Ice Data Center last fall. Continue reading →

What is “Shark Vs. Mermaid Death Squad”?

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Life certainly was fun while it lasted out there in the ocean.  I wasn’t an exceptional shark by any means–never on Shark Week or in an epic battle with a zombie–just a normal fish with a cartilaginous skeleton doing my thing, always moving and capitalizing on 64 million years of evolution.  That is, until I got scooped up by the tuna industry.  Then it was game over for me. Continue reading →

Wanted: Polar explorers. No experience required.

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In just over two weeks I will be standing on the frozen Arctic ocean, preparing to ski to the North Pole. I’ll be wearing four layers of fleece and a special hat that someone knitted for me. In my pockets I’ll carry some almond chocolate, an iPod, and a declaration of hope for future generations. Continue reading →

How much scandal can fit in one can of tuna?

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ID: The Greenpeace airship A.E. Bates flies flies by the La Jolla peninsula near the headquarters of Chicken of the Sea canned tuna company to call attention to overfishing and bycatch issues.

We’ve seen things go from bad to worse in the conventional canned tuna industry over the last year. In 2011, with the launch of Greenpeace’s campaign to reform Chicken of the Sea, information on the sector’s destructive practices came to the forefront. Images of sharks, rays, and even cetaceans being callously slaughtered on tuna boats peppered the internet and ran rampant across social media. A tuna boat helipilot-turned-whistleblower, his voice distorted and face blacked out to ensure his anonymity, told the world about the horrors that were being committed in the open ocean in the name of cheap canned tuna. Greenpeace’s airship flew along a San Diego freeway, emblazoned with a demand for Chicken of the Sea to “stop ripping up the sea.” Continue reading →

Tell Secretary of State John Kerry: I Love the Arctic!

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While several of our international Greenpeace colleagues gear up for an epic journey to the North Pole next month, volunteers and activists around the world are preparing to take the Arctic to their communities and politicians.

As part of his new role as Secretary of State, Senator John Kerry will be a U.S. delegate on the Arctic Council. A champion for global warming legislation in the Senate, Secretary Kerry now has the power to advocate for Arctic protection through the Arctic Council.  The quote below from the Secretary himself gives us reason to believe that he’ll do the right thing when it comes to Arctic drilling.

“This fight against drilling in the Arctic Refuge is a fight about our principles. It’s about standing up for our environment, our families and our future, and I won’t give up this fight.”

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Help Greenpeace save endangered leatherback turtles

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Endangered leatherback turtles migrate 6,000 miles across the Pacific each year, and at the end of their journey looms a deadly threat.

Drifting gillnets, known as “walls of death,” float just off the California coast. While their purpose is to catch swordfish, these nets have ensnared and drowned more than a hundred turtles. Continue reading →

Our domestic WAR on whales and dolphins

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The Navy's plan to test sonar and explosives underwater will directly impact whales like this humpback.

Over the past couple of years the Obama Administration has demonstrated great international leadership on the conservation of whales. This includes the US supporting the creation of the South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary at the last International Whaling Commission meeting, President Obama imposing diplomatic sanctions on Iceland for their commercial hunting of endangered fin whales and numerous other conservation initiatives. However here at home it’s a very different story with the Obama administration supporting multiple activities that will result in the harm to millions of whales and dolphins. Continue reading →