Aerial view of a crop circle made by local farmers and Greenpeace volunteers

There aren’t too many corporations more globally disliked than the sustainable agriculture company Monsanto. And by “sustainable agriculture,” they mean genetically engineering food crops with unknown chemicals leading to health and environmental risks including a jarring decline in global bee populations.

This Saturday, May 25, thousands of global activists will participate in marches against Monsanto in 250 cities around the world. Initially organized and created by Tami Monroe Canal, mother of two young daughters, this global movement aims to fight back against a multinational corporation putting profit over human and environmental health.

If you’re debating finding an event near you this Saturday, here are 6 reasons to convince you to March against Monsanto!

6. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that one in three honeybee colonies were lost last winter. Scientists point to pesticides from companies like Monsanto, Bayer and Syngenta as the primary reason for the rapid decline. Honeybees pollinate 25 percent of the food Americans eat.

5. President Obama and the U.S. Congress recently passed a bill amendment that is now known as the “Monsanto Protection Act”, assuring that federal courts cannot halt the planting of GMO seeds from Monsanto.

4. Ex-Monsanto executives are at the helm of the FDA, the agency in charge of regulating our food.

3. The active ingredient on Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, sprayed on most genetically engineered crops, is glyphosate, linked to a lengthy scroll of diseases and chronic conditions including autism, cardiovascular disease, depression, cancer, cachexia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis.

2. There is little left for subsidies to organic and small family farms once Monsanto gobbles all of them yet. The last thing one of the largest and wealthiest multinational corporations needs is federal assistance.

1. You can take back your health, your food and your environment by joining this global rising tide against Monsanto, a company hiding behind the guise of “sustainable agriculture” while hijacking the safety of what we eat.

Find out more about Greenpeace’s work on sustainable agriculture and GMOs.

Sonora Island is the ‘tail-end’ of the Great Bear Rainforest (or depending on your orientation, it’s the head of the Great Bear).  It’s around 160 square kilometers of primarily mountainous terrain, and mostly under forest cover. Homes are sporadically located along its coastline with access by boat and floatplane only.  It’s part of unceded aboriginal traditional territories of three First Nations.

Like so much of the southern part of the Great Bear Rainforest, Sonora has been subjected to unsustainable levels of industrial logging from last century onwards, placing many old-growth ecosystems at high ecological risk.  Yet there remains on Sonora amazing stands of old-growth forests including Douglas firs, which sadly are becoming rare on the coast and Vancouver Island.

Northern Goshawk, an at-risk species key to assessing the health of the Great Bear Rainforest, also inhabits the island. In fact I was privileged to see two nests of this special bird of prey and to hear its unique call. Very special – I was quite taken by its eerie cry.

Under the Great Bear Rainforest Agreements, the region is supposed to be logged under Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM). Key to EBM is a system of logging regulations intended to lift the region out of its high-risk status over time; logging companies have to identify and set aside at-risk ecosystems and habitat of key species like the Northern Goshawk (EBM is slightly different for the north and central coasts, where the majority of old-growth ecosystems aren’t at high risk).

We expect then that all logging companies in the region should be operating under EBM rules and working towards greater levels of protection as per the 2009 Agreements. However on Sonora Island, as I and a few other environmental allies recently found out at the invitation of the community, it appears TimberWest Forest Corporation has not been properly adhering to the spirit and intent of EBM.

TimberWest identified blocks for clear-cutting on the island which they called ‘second-growth’. However given the impressive local ecological knowledge and understanding of EBM, members of the community have contested this and other ways in which the company is managing its operations. Sonorites identified significant old-growth ecosystems which are in deficit across the region and which under EBM should be managed differently (ie set aside). Indeed, in visiting these old-growth ecosystems within the proposed blocks, it’s so clear this is the case.

I was lucky to go on two field trips in the last few weeks and each time I became more impressed with the beauty and rarity of these old-growth forests – aside from the huge trees, how often these days can one drink from a free-flowing stream without worry of contamination. I was also amazed by the intimate knowledge and passion Sonorites have for these stands, and with the deftness of our hosts – I couldn’t even keep up with a young mother and her 14-month old at her back as we clambered (well they clambered, I lumbered) over extraordinarily twisted, rocky, at-times steep and knotty-rooted terrain with the rich deep scents of massive cedars and firs decomposing everywhere.

Accompanied by company officials, we were told the cut-blocks were all ‘second-growth’ forests (although, naturally disturbed by fire and wind a century ago, some these forests haven’t been logged), and that there were insufficient old-growth trees to designate the forests as old-growth ecosystems. And yet in one proposed cut-block (11-370) I saw a lot of old-growth trees – in fact the community took it upon itself to count and label up to 160 old Cedar and Douglas fir. We were also shown a logging road punched through what was once a stand of old-growth, if the huge trees lying by the side of the road was anything to go by. The more we walked the more it became clear that such activity will be, and is, fragmenting interconnected veins of old-growth ecosystems.

The proposed cut-blocks and the roads built (and yet-to-be-built) were planned without landscape-level plans that inform where under EBM old-growth areas – ESPECIALLY those at high ecological risk – are to be set aside. It was so evident that such areas deemed ‘second-growth’ and yet never logged, were old-growth ecosystems. Some of the photos in this blog make that pretty obvious.

In essence, since Sonora Island has a deficit of significant types of old-growth ecosystems, planning by the company at the broader scale should have happened under EBM to protect some of these ecosystems. This didn’t appear to happen. Indeed it seems that TimberWest,given past practice, didn’t appear to take the proper and prudent approach to planning under EBM.

To their credit, TimberWest is responding to community concerns: they’ve agreed to set aside some areas of concern, and have committed to producing landscape-level maps.

But I remain perturbed over a number of issues: how does TimberWest intend to harvest on Sonora given it’s at high ecological risk; definitions of ‘old-growth’ and ‘second-growth’; what the spirit and intent of EBM fundamentally is; and the provincial role – where was the oversight in ensuring TimberWest was properly following EBM?

Further, what I’ve encountered in this situation is a microcosm of what’s underway at the macrocosm level as we and our environmental allies seek to help fully implement EBM across the entire Great Bear Rainforest, in collaboration with the logging industry and the governments of British Columbia and First Nations of the region. More specifically is a core issue: how to square the need to set aside endangered old-growth ecosystems that happen to be the most productive in terms of high-value timber.

Whale Sharks in Cenderawasih Bay © Paul Hilton / Greenpeace

On this International Day for Biological Diversity, we want to show you stunning images from one of the world’s richest places in biodiversity: Indonesia. From whale sharks, to abundant coral reefs and forests teeming with life, the Greenpeace ship the Rainbow Warrior is currently documenting the beauty and fragility of Indonesia’s natural environment.

The message in these images is simple: this is what we stand to lose if we don’t act now.

Pristine Reefs in Cenderawasih Bay © Paul Hilton / Greenpeace

If our planet is to sustain life on earth in the future and be protected from environmental destruction, we need action by governments to protect our living, breathing oceans and forests and to halt biodiversity loss.

The fragile state of Indonesia’s oceans and forests are a clear reminder of how marine and forest life is at risk from industrial overfishing and relentless deforestation.

Forest in Papua © Paul Hilton / Greenpeace

Indonesia has at least 20% of the world’s total biodiversity and is home to more than 30,000 recorded species of plants and more than 3,000 mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians.

Coral Reef at Dampier Straight Raja Ampat © Paul Hilton / Greenpeace

Approximately 10% of the world’s rainforests are located in Indonesia. Fifty years ago, 82% of the country was covered with forests but in the last decade this has dropped to 48% due to relentless deforestation for paper and palm oil plantations and mining.

Indonesia’s seas are also among the most diverse coastal and marine habitats. Areas like Raja Ampat, in West Papua, are claimed to be among the richest spots in biodiversity on Earth. But the country’s coral reefs are considered to be among the world’s most threatened biodiversity hotspots, at risk from overfishing, pollution and climate change.

Black-capped Lory in Papua © Paul Hilton / Greenpeace

Continued inaction is not an option.

We must move now to stop destructive industrial overfishing in order to restore our oceans to health and take steps to achieve zero deforestation.

Check out how you can support or join us.

Bruce Wrobel, the chief executive of Herakles Farms, claims his company’s efforts to flatten a chunk of Cameroon’s dense rainforest to develop a palm oil plantation are borne of a desire to address a “dire humanitarian need”.

Yet this week Herakles has had to suspend its activities in Cameroon following a forestry ministry order for the company to halt clearing work at their Talangaye nursery in the southwest region of the country.

Greenpeace has long been among those calling out Wrobel and his company over their failure to tell the real truth over their project. The suspension of work is merely the latest evidence that the proposed plantation is a mess, despite the company’s ever-present PR machine.

In contravention of national law, in the face of local opposition and a huge threat to the local environment, the development is simply the wrong project in the wrong place and it needs to be stopped.

Today, together with the Oakland Institute we have released a new report revealing just how big the discrepancy is between what Wrobel and his friends say publicly and what they are saying to potential investors.

Compiled through confidential internal Herakles documents, here some of the biggest fibs exposed in Herakles Exposed.

The reality: Herakles has yet to receive a land lease from the Cameroonian government and thus possesses no right to develop its concession area. It has been in violation of national law since 2010. The new order from the forestry ministry again proves Herakles has far from all the permissions required.

The claim: Herakles does not tolerate corruption.

The reality: Evidence strongly suggests Herakles has resorted to bribery, the offer of cash gifts and promises of employment to obtain the consent of some local communities and the government to facilitate the project.

The claim: In a widely circulated open letter of 2012 by Herakles CEO Bruce Wrobel, the company claimed that all timber generated by the project’s massive deforestation would benefit the Cameroonian government.

The reality: In direct contradiction to Wrobel’s public claim, however, Herakles’ presentations intended to attract investors has estimated the company may bank US$60 – US$90 million on the sale of timber and brags about the “profit uplift”.  We feel sorry for financiers that have been tempted by Herakles profit projections because Cameroonian law states that only accredited logging companies can commercialise timber. And as Wrobel himself wrote, Herakles “are not commercial loggers”.

The claim: Herakles will produce 34 tonnes of palm bunches (FFB) per hectare at peak production.

The reality: The most experienced palm producers in Africa yield 26 tonnes FFB per hectare and most plantations yield less than 20 tonnes FFB at peak production.

The reality: The company promises in an investment advisory it would clear more than 10,000 hectares of land in order to plant 1.5 million oil palm seedlings. However, internal communications from employees reveal Herakles is in no position to clear that much land and that the seedlings and nursery are already overgrown by nine months, meaning work is unable to proceed at the advertised speed.

Okay, so Herakles is not the first American or international company to employ questionable business practices abroad … so why does it matter so much?

Since 2008 there has been a massive land rush on the African continent as foreign companies and governments look to produce commodities, biofuels, and food staples in addition to asserting foreign control over natural resources such as timber, minerals and water. The heavily forested areas of the Congo Basin are prime targets as companies search for rich soil in areas with a low population density.

If Herakles’ project succeeds – despite the illegalities, the massive deforestation, destruction of local livelihoods and false claims to investors – many other investors may attempt to do the same.

That is why the project must be stopped – permanently. Tell Herackles Farms CEO that you the palm oil project in Cameroon is not sustainable development.

In a verdant airfield just north of Seattle, our team stood huddled in the damp dawn obscured on every side by a thick fog.  As the sun climbed into the morning sky, we waited, fingers crossed, for the fog to lift before the winds picked up.  Just as the warmth of the sun began to burn off the mist, a helicopter appeared and circled above.   It was the local news helicopter. They had come to see this thing called an airship

There is no doubt that it is a peculiar craft.  Somewhere between a blimp and a hot air balloon, Greenpeace’s thermal airship, named A.E. Bates, is one of 4 vessels of it’s kind in the United States and one of only 60 in the world.

Back on the field, pilots Crispin Williams and Mike Johnson, take a final assessment of the weather and return to the hopeful team with the good news. We were going to fly.

With the vessel’s nose pointed into the wind, we begin to inflate.  The airship envelope is first inflated with cold air from a high powered fan. Once it begins to take takes shape, the pilots use the flames from the aircraft’s burners to heat the air inside the envelope.  Two members of the crew stand at bow with fists clenched onto the bowline in order to keep the aircraft pointed into the wind.  As the air inside grows hotter, the aircraft begins to stand up. With the start up of the 65 HP Rotax engine, the propeller blades spin into a blur and the A.E. Bates is ready for lift off.

Watching the all 105,000 cubic feet of the airship inflate never stops seeming magical as the lifeless blanket of color slowly takes shape and rises off the ground.  A larger than life sperm whale is breathed into existence calling for on lookers to protect the Bering Sea Canyons.

The airship and whale swim through air raising awareness about the need to protect the Bering Sea Canyons. The campaign is calling on the fishery managers and the National Marine Fishery Service to identify and implement measures to protect the Bering Sea Canyons and ecosystem.

Seattle and Washington have decision makers on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council who are meeting in just a couple weeks about this issue. Greenpeace is taking more than 80,000 petitions to the Council calling for Bering Sea protection.  Add your voice now to protect the Bering Sea!

As the ship dreamily floats at 500 ft AGL (above ground level) and drifts over the road below, vehicles pull over watch in awe.  Inside the plexiglass walls of the gondola, the pilots steer the craft using a system of cables that course all the way through the ship and back to the 40 ft inflated tail fin.  The radio on the fight deck crackles with communications between pilots in nearby aircraft and the airfield below.

After we landed, oceans campaigner Jackie Dragon gave a powerful interview to the news team that came to the airfield to see the ship.  Jackie eloquently detailed the campaign and why the airship was flying.   The story aired on the evening news and discussed the importance and urgency of this issue as well as the airship and Greenpeace’s current exhibit at the Seattle Aquarium.

Each time I see the airship take to the skies, I can’t help but think of its namesake, Mr. Bates.  A man so dedicated to the movement that in his retirement donated over 25,000 hours of volunteer service to Greenpeace.  It is Mr. Bates and all of the people like him that give flight and inspiration to our collective mission for a greener and more peaceful future

Here’s hoping for a flight-filled week ahead.

Take action now to protect the Bering Sea!