Why was the international organization Greenpeace created 4. Founder of Greenpeace: “These are information terrorists. Greenpeace offices around the world

In 1969, the US government planned to conduct underground nuclear testing in Alaska's Aleutian Islands. However, some people were afraid that this would cause earthquakes and a subsequent tidal wave.

About 10,000 people took part in the protest demonstration. They blocked the US-Canadian border and held signs that read “Don't create a wave. If you don’t understand, it’s your mistake.”
Some of the demonstrators were members of the Canadian chapter of the Sierra Club.

At first they planned to go to the testing site by boat, but the Sierra Club management forbade this. In response, the "Wave Prevention Committee" was organized. In 1971, they sailed to Alaska on a boat called Greenpeace, a term coined by co-founder Bill Darnell.
In May 1972, the organization was officially renamed Greenpeace.

2- The French government blew up their boat

In the summer of 1985, the organization's flagship, the Rainbow Warrior, docked in Auckland Harbor ( New Zealand), while the French military intelligence (DGSE) was conducting an operation called "Operation Satanic" ("Devil's Operation").

The intelligence service attached a pair of bombs to the ship's hull and sank it. Everything would have gone more or less calmly if the attention of the press had not been focused on this event. Unfortunately, one of the photographers, Fernando Pereira, was delayed on the ship. He was killed when the second shell exploded. After which the operation turned into an international scandal.

French intelligence officer Louis-Pierre Dillais was found responsible for the "Diabolical Operation". He currently works in Virginia for the American division of the Belgian arms manufacturer FN Herstal. Greenpeace considers him a terrorist and wants the US government to deport him under federal law.

3- Greenpeace has been accused by its former members

In the 70s and 80s of the last century, Greenpeace had a number of big victories. After this, a change in priorities began. They continued to attract new members to the organization while expelling old members.

Former Greenpeace president Patrick Moore has left the organization after 15 years at the helm. He still criticizes the organization's tactics, which he calls "scare tactics." In 2005, he wrote an article for the Miami Herald in which one of the phrases read: “Science and logic are forgotten here, since everything is based on emotions and the desire for sensation.” Currently, Moore heads Greenspirit Strategies Ltd., which continues its sustainable development.

One of the organization's founders, Paul Watson, left the organization in 1977, just as Patrick Moore became its president, because he opposed the new president, opposing direct action that would compromise the organization's original goals. Watson currently heads the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

Don White, the founder of the American branch of the organization, left it in 1985 due to “insufficient responsibility and strained relations with supporters of the organization, as well as distance from wildlife issues.”

After White left Greenpeace America, he accused her of "profit-seeking... passing off other people's achievements as her own for the purpose of making a profit." White is currently the founder and president of the wildlife conservation organization Earthtrust.

Bradley Angel was Greenpeace's toxic pollution coordinator for the southwest. However, he resigned in 1997 when the international arm of Greenpeace “betrayed” an agreement with some governments under which they were going to fight the American government, which planned to build a nuclear waste storage facility on sacred lands.

Angel currently serves as the executive director of the health and environmental organization Greenaction.

4- Accusations of deliberate disinformation were brought against Greenpeace

Robert Hunter, one of the founders of the organization, as well as the man who coined the terms “mind bomb” and “eco-warrior”, was heavily influenced by the theories of media guru Marshall MasLujan regarding modern means mass media.

Hunter learned early on the power of the media (videos of baby seals being bludgeoned, dolphins being exterminated, Greenpeace activists bravely escorting whales in the open ocean). Simply put, he turned complex questions into comparisons of good and bad, after which there was no left who was who in a given situation.

In 1995, Greenpeace led a successful campaign to force the oil company Royal Dutch Shell to dismantle one of their oil production platforms, accusing the company of disinformation. Greenpeace announced a global boycott of Shell.

The organization's activists occupied the platform, took a sample of the contents and reported that the field contained 5,000 tons of oil, which is 110 times more than the volume declared by Shell.
After this, Shell was bombarded with various statements from the press, despite the fact that their own assessments were almost completely consistent with reality.

In 2006, Greenpeace released its Beginner's Guide to Electronics, which rated electronics manufacturers on the levels of toxic and recyclable chemicals in their products.

Critics made exceptions to the report, partly because of the flawed criterion that companies are ranked largely based on information available to the public, and partly because of their friendly ties to Apple.

5- Opponents of Greenpeace insisted on an audit of the organization

In 2003, Washington-based Public Interest Watch (PIW), a non-core corporation whose slogan is “Keep an eye on self-proclaimed public interest advocates,” filed a lawsuit with the Internal Revenue Service (USA) accusing the US subsidiary of Greenpeace of money laundering. , misuse of donations, and inaccurate tax filing. This led to an intensive three-month audit of Greenpeace America.

The PIW website was created in 2003. According to the website, the seed funding was “offered by business organizations,” but in 2006, the Wall Street Journal revealed the reality behind the funding: virtually all of the money came from one source—a multinational corporation that Greenpeace called “No. 1 on the list of the most criminal in relation to the environment" - Exxon Mobil Corporation.

And although the audit revealed small underpayments, the Internal Tax Service found no reason to cancel the status of the property withdrawn from taxation.

What now?

Greenpeace is currently protesting against the construction of a coal-fired power station in England.

And recently they just completed a grueling pursuit Japanese fleet, engaged in the annual capture of whales in the Southern Ocean (the sea surrounding Antarctica, covering parts of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans– approx. transl.), and are also planning to mark the anniversary of the signing of the Kyoto Protocol by picketing the Canadian Parliament buildings to protest the government's inaction on global warming.

However, the organization is not only busy with protests. Greenpeace Switzerland recently launched an online dating service for people who care about the environment.

By typing the word “Greenpeace” into the Google search engine, we found a series of articles from five various countries, relating to seven full-fledged unique Greenpeace companies. This demonstrates not only the enormous international reach of the organization, but also represents almost four decades of struggle.

Greenpeace is one of the largest international public environmental organizations whose main goal is to achieve solutions to global environmental problems, including by attracting the attention of the public and authorities to them.

Greenpeace originated in 1971 in Canada. Today this organization operates in more than 40 countries around the world, with national offices in 27 countries, including Russia. About three million supporters worldwide, more than 12 thousand of them in Russia, support Greenpeace's actions.

Greenpeace's activities are funded by supporters. The main source of funding is voluntary private donations. The main principle is the refusal of financing by industrial companies, banks, government agencies and political parties.

The international nature of the organization allows Greenpeace to influence manufacturers and retailers and demand that they comply with environmental regulations and standards around the world. In 1997, together with other environmental organizations, Greenpeace got several international logging companies operating in Karelia to declare a moratorium on cutting down the most valuable, undisturbed forests. This was achieved thanks to the joint efforts of Greenpeace Russia, Germany, Finland, and other non-governmental environmental organizations. Greenpeace is doing similar work against oil companies. Greenpeace considers solving the problems of oil production and oil pollution in Russia especially relevant in connection with the arrival of many Western oil companies in Russia. Greenpeace seeks to force foreign companies to comply with the same stringent environmental requirements in our country that they have to comply with in Western countries. Greenpeace Russia conducts public control over compliance with environmental legislation and initiates legal proceedings against its violators. He considers his main task to be the creation of precedents, the transformation of courts into an effective instrument for the protection of environmental rights. Greenpeace considers its greatest achievement in this area to be the abolition by the Supreme Court in 1996 of the decree of the President of the Russian Federation, which allowed the import of spent nuclear fuel into the country from foreign nuclear power plants. In 2002, together with the Chelyabinsk environmental organization "Movement for Nuclear Safety", Greenpeace achieved the recognition as illegal of the Russian Government's resolution allowing the storage of nuclear waste from the Hungarian Paks nuclear power plant on the territory of the Russian Federation.

Another aspect of Greenpeace Russia’s activities is an independent assessment and bringing to the attention of the general public the environmental consequences of man-made disasters, usually hidden by official structures. This work is part of the toxic campaign, examples of which are the assessment of the consequences of the oil spill in Komi in 1994 and the accident at the slurry reservoir of the Syassky pulp and paper mill in December 1998.

Greenpeace also conducts research of a different kind: as part of the Baikal campaign, along with work in the field of biodiversity and pollution, Greenpeace is trying to analyze the effectiveness of using funds coming from various sources for the protection of Lake Baikal. When choosing a particular area of work, Greenpeace is guided by its relevance, on the one hand, and its capabilities, on the other.

Greenpeace conducts the following campaigns and projects in Russia:

Baikal campaign. Greenpeace Russia joined the fight to preserve the unique nature of the Baikal region in 1995, and since 1996, the Baikal campaign has existed as a separate direction. The goal is to contribute to solving environmental problems of Lake Baikal and the Baikal natural area.

Genetic campaign. Greenpeace is fighting against the cultivation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in open systems and their use as food due to existing risks for environment and people's health.

Forest campaign. Greenpeace advocates forest management that will cause minimal damage to nature, while providing jobs and livelihoods for the local population. In sparsely forested areas of Russia, where forests have been cleared by man, Greenpeace is leading a project "Let's revive our forest" on forest restoration. During the project, 142 forest nurseries were established in school areas, where 62,000 small trees grow, about 62,000 seedlings of pine, oak, alder, elm and maple were planted in nature. In 2004, in the project “Let's Revive Our Forest!” public organizations of the Arkhangelsk, Novosibirsk, Tomsk regions, the Republic of Chuvashia, and the Primorsky Territory expressed a desire to take part. The project, which began with just a few schools, seems to be growing into a nationwide movement.

World Heritage Project. The main goal of Greenpeace's work on the World Natural Heritage in Russia project is to give unique natural areas the highest conservation status to further guarantee their preservation.

In 1972 More than twenty countries have signed the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. By mid-2003, 176 states had acceded to the Convention. Today there are 149 natural, 582 cultural and 23 mixed (natural-cultural) sites on the World Heritage List. Currently, the Convention is the most effective international instrument for the protection of unique natural and cultural complexes.

Russia joined the Convention in 1988. In 1994 On the initiative of the State Committee of the Russian Federation for Environmental Protection (Goskomekologiya of the Russian Federation) and Greenpeace Russia, work began to include Russian natural sites on the World Heritage List. According to the agreement with the State Committee for Ecology of the Russian Federation, Greenpeace Russia acted as coordinator of this work in 1994 - 2000.

Toxic campaign. Greenpeace opposes the production, distribution and disposal of chemical compounds hazardous to humans and the environment. The goal is to develop a system of separate collection and recycling of household waste.

Energy campaign. Greenpeace advocates abandoning nuclear power and nuclear disarmament, for the development of energy conservation and alternative energy sources.

What is Greenpeace? This political structure or professional association? What is the reason for the popularity of this organization? Why was Greenpeace created? These questions have been and remain relevant. There is a version that the activities of activists of this organization are one of the key factors of development modern world. In contrast to this point of view, there is an opinion that this structure is just a stronghold of completely ordinary people who are not capable of exerting a serious influence on world politics and resolving issues of a global nature. The diversity of opinions makes studying the activities of this environmental organization especially fascinating.

History of creation and basic facts

The international organization Greenpeace (English: Greenpeace, “Green World”) was created in 1971. There is a version that its establishment is connected with the environmental action that took place in September of that year, directed against the test nuclear weapons. A group of enthusiasts, led by entrepreneur David Taggart, organized a protest against the US government. Over the years, Greenpeace has grown from a small group of environmentalists to one of the most influential organizations in the world.

The main methods of Greenpeace are actions and protests. Conducting socially significant high-profile demonstrations, rallies that can draw attention to acute environmental problems and specific projects that can harm the environment. The organization's activities are financed by voluntary contributions from supporters and like-minded people, that is, ordinary citizens. The highest governing body of Greenpeace is the international Council, which consists of the management of offices located in different countries peace. The Russian branch of the organization was created in 1992 and is still operating. So, why was Greenpeace created in Russia?

Activities of Greenpeace in Russia

The first contacts of Greenpeace with our country took place back in Soviet time. The branch of the organization in the USSR opened after quite a long approval process in 1989. She became the first country international structure related to environmental issues. After the collapse of the USSR, the Greenpeace office was reorganized and began work under the new political regime in 1992. At first, the organization had a representative office only in Moscow; in 2001, a branch was opened in St. Petersburg. Greenpeace Russia employs about 70 people.

The main issues that the structure deals with in the Russian Federation are reducing the level of environmental pollution chemicals, protection of the Arctic nature from the costs of industrial development, monitoring the condition of nature reserves, forests, development of alternative energy by Russian enterprises. The organization regularly issues reports on the state of the environment in different regions Russia and sectors of the economy.

Resonant precedents in Russia

A large number of well-known precedents related to the work of Greenpeace in Russia date back to the 90s. An example is a special investigation conducted by an organization on Far East which forced Russian structures associated with recognizing the facts of the release of radioactive waste into the open sea.

In 1995, the first site in Russia was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List - virgin forests in the Komi Republic. In 1996, Greenpeace activists won a case in Supreme Court RF, as a result of which the Presidential Decree on allowing the transport of spent fuel for nuclear power plants into the country is annulled. In 1999, the organization lobbied the Moscow City Duma for the municipal law “On the Protection of Green Spaces” - the first act of this kind in Russia.

Famous Greenpeace projects in Russia

Greenpeace in Russia pays great attention to forest conservation and restoration. This work includes the development of legal advice and interaction with government agencies in the field of forestry. In 2002, the “Reviving Our Forest” project was launched. As part of it, an international environmental organization and school students are restoring forests in different regions Russia. Several hundred educational institutions took part in the project, and several tens of thousands of seedlings were planted. Greenpeace promotes the so-called selective waste collection and recycling. The organization was able to introduce this environmental method in St. Petersburg. In 2007-2008, Greenpeace Russia activists raised problems related to negative impact construction of Olympic facilities in Sochi.

Incident on the Gazpromneft platform

One of the most resonant actions of Greenpeace in Russia was held in September 2013. Several activists made their way to the Prirazlomnaya oil production platform by sailing to the site on their own vessel, Arctic Sunrise. All of them were arrested. According to the activists themselves, the ship of the Greenpeace organization, the emblem of which was clearly visible on board, went out into the Pechora Sea with the aim of conducting a peaceful action aimed at protesting oil production in the Arctic by the Gazprom Neft company, which owned platform. Soon enough, the Russian President spoke about the incident, saying that the detainees, apparently, were not pirates. For several months, Greenpeace activists were under arrest and kept in a pre-trial detention center in the Murmansk region. However, ultimately no serious charges were brought against them. In November, the defendants in the case were released on bail, and in December the charges against them were dropped. All activists who had foreign citizenship were able to go home.

Resonant precedents in the world

What Greenpeace was created for is to participate in solving environmental problems around the world. Activists of the organization, following the tasks assigned to them, carry out very demonstrative actions. One of these is a protest against the British oil company Shell, which refused to flood one of its production platforms, which, according to Greenpeace, contained a large amount of toxic substances. Activists made their way onto the platform and expressed their protest by tying themselves to elements of the structure.

There was a resonance, there was a reaction in the media - Shell's quotes fell. The management of the oil company still had to make a decision to flood the platform. In 2011, Greenpeace activists entered one of the Australian farms, where genetically modified wheat was grown, and destroyed the entire crop. During one of the air shows in France, activists held a protest against air pollution from automobile exhaust gases, chaining themselves to cars of famous world brands right near the main exhibition building at the Versailles Gate.

Greenpeace is against nuclear energy

One of the theses promoted by the Russian office of Greenpeace is the uselessness and danger of generating electricity from nuclear power plants. Activists believe that nuclear power plants are economically ineffective and that they need to be replaced by other energy sources. There are many objections to this point of view. There is an opinion that they are much more expensive and even more unprofitable compared to generation at nuclear power plants. Signs of economic inefficiency atomic energy may be associated, for example, with difficulties in transition economies - as was the case, for example, in Russia, which was going through a difficult time after perestroika.

Greenpeace against GMOs

Activists of the organization are confident that genetically modified products are extremely harmful to humans and the environment. Therefore, they must be labeled when sold - in order to clearly show the fact of the presence of GMO elements in food. Critics of this thesis, firstly, draw attention to the fact that there is no clear evidence of genetic harm modified products, and secondly indicate that Greenpeace is too selective in this issue. In 2004, for example, the organization formed a blacklist of food manufacturing companies. There were companies that, for one reason or another, did not provide an environmental structure necessary documents. But it turned out that the activists of the organization did not make any requests. At the same time, as experts noted, the largest businesses were not included in the blacklist, which could give rise to talk about shadow cooperation between them and Greenpeace.

Positive assessment of Greenpeace's activities

There is an opinion that Greenpeace, despite the possible shocking and sometimes rebellious methods of carrying out actions, plays a positive role in solving pressing environmental issues. The organization’s activists themselves often say that with their actions they only convey to people correct information. Greenpeace, as people who hold this structure in reverence believe, is capable of influencing both ordinary citizens and officials.

The organization has competent lawyers on staff who are able to effectively communicate with government officials in the language of laws and regulations. One of the key problems of the modern world, according to Greenpeace activists and their supporters, is waste. A person takes from nature much more than, based on objective data, he needs, wastes resources without thinking about the consequences. And all this is for the sake of immediate profit or pleasure.

Criticism of Greenpeace

Greenpeace's activities are regularly criticized from a variety of sides. In particular, some scientists, including ecologists, are dissatisfied with the work of the organization. In their opinion, the work of Greenpeace does more harm to the environment than significant benefit. A number of ecologists believe that the organization’s statements about the dangers of genetically modified plants are biased.

There is also an opinion that Greenpeace's actions against specific companies may be financed by their competitors. There is a version that activists of the organization often act with political overtones. But, despite the abundance of criticism, supporters and employees of Greenpeace speak out about the inconsistency of the claims. There are other types of criticism. According to some environmentalists who are particularly radical, Greenpeace uses too soft methods of influencing the public.

Greenpeace's influence on global business and politics

Opinions of experts and ordinary people on the influence of Greenpeace on global political and economic processes diverge greatly. There is a thesis that the organization and its activists are a tool in the hands of business. What Greenpeace was created for is to fight large companies with competitors. Those who disagree with this point of view emphasize that there are no real precedents directly speaking about cooperation between Greenpeace and business structures. For example, when holding protests in the Arctic, the organization emphasizes that it is undesirable not only for Gazprom Neft, but also for any other company to develop there, since in any case it causes harm to the environment.

Greenpeace was opposed to any attempts to launch drilling sites, including those carried out by foreign companies - Shell, Exxon Mobile, Statoil. There is a version that Greenpeace activists defend the political interests of some states. Opponents of this point of view emphasize that the organization's offices are scattered throughout the world, which precludes the formation of any coalitions. In addition, the fact of Greenpeace’s financial independence is noted.

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What do they say about the most famous and its founders? Do they consider it environmental at all?

The attack of inflatable boats on sea vessels is a signature feature of Greenpeace. That's how it was in the beginning, that's how it remains now

“Greenpeace are information terrorists; they deliberately exaggerate and play on people’s fears. Their campaigns are based on fiction and they are fooling people!” - says Patrick Moore, one of the founders of the organization. He served on the board of directors of Greenpeace for 15 years. According to Moore, in the mid-1980s, he suddenly discovered that he was the only director who had a specialized education and was involved in science. “None of my colleagues had a scientific degree in anything close to the field. These were politicians, some public figures, environmental careerists,” he says.

Paul Watson, the leader of the Sea Shepherd organization, was also at the forefront and served on the board of directors. In his opinion, power in the organization was seized by economists, lawyers and bureaucrats.

Greenpeace founder: they pretend to solve problems

“We created Greenpeace because we wanted to have a small group of action-oriented people who would go to the scene and, by attracting media attention, would make this or that issue controversial, widely discussed, in order to get to its root,” he quotes Watson in his book EcoWarriors. The Radical Nature Movement by Rick Scarks. “That’s how it was for the first seven years or so.” We did our job successfully. And then one day we woke up.”

Watson believes that Greenpeace is "just the world's biggest organization that appeases people and pretends to solve problems." As an example, he cites the situation with whaling in Antarctica. Greenpeace annually raises about $30 million for this purpose. But in Antarctica the organization does not even show up. She treats her sponsors to staged videos in which she allegedly confronts Japanese whaling ships. Greenpeace activists swim towards them on inflatable boats, receive a portion of water from the fire nozzles, film it on camera, sail away, and then the footage is presented under the guise of a heroic confrontation.

Greenpeace founder: it's just a beautiful screen for raising money

Where does all the money raised go? According to Paul Watson, 70 to 80% of all donations are spent on maintaining Greenpeace's huge bureaucratic machine, which is essentially a lobbying structure. “The organization has become simply beautiful screen to raise money,” says the former Greenpeace activist.

Watson admits.

Greenpeace and the Sea Shepherd founder have a long-standing bad blood. Watson blames Greenpeace for its lack of direct action. Greenpeace considers him an environmental extremist. Indeed, because of his actions aimed at protecting whales and other marine mammals, Watson had problems with the law and was even declared a criminal. international search. Although who would say.

Greenpeace founder: their fight against GMOs is a set of superstitions

Greenpeace is fighting not only oil rigs and Japanese whalers. He fights with and. Patrick Moore considers the latter a war that is based on complete superstitions. "Don't open an umbrella indoors," "don't walk under stairs" or "don't cross a black cat's path" are warnings on the same level as "don't buy GMO products," he says. “And yet millions of people are afraid of GMOs, although there is no evidence that they cause any harm.”

Moore considers Greenpeace to be information terrorists, Watson - a lobbying structure. There is an opinion that this was originally intended. David McTaggart, a Canadian businessman, conceived the organization precisely as a tool for corporate wars. When McTaggart's former associates realized this, they left Greenpeace. Today, none of its founders remain in the leadership of the organization.