June 2010

As the International Whaling Commission (IWC)'s annual meeting begins in Morocco, there has been a flurry of media coverage over a possible 'deal' or 'compromise'. Often the details, and sometimes the central points, can get lost as things are translated, edited, reworked and re-edited for the media, so I wanted to take the opportunity here to spell out just what Greenpeace's position is.

This meeting is causing a stir because there is the possibility of some sort of deal to address the future of the IWC. Reform has been a long time coming, and everyone agrees that the IWC needs an overhaul. The current deadlock means that the Commission is effectively stymied from taking on the serious conservation work that is so desperately needed. And, of course, we have the deplorable situation of a global ban on commercial whaling being flouted by Japan, Norway and Iceland.

Exclusive paintings of Glastonbury festival by leading British artist Kurt Jackson raised £68,000 for Greenpeace when they were auctioned last weekend. As a long-time Greenpeace supporter Kurt generously gave us 29 artworks from his time as artist-in-residence at the festival. They were all painted in situ, and included portraits of Radiohead, Massive Attack, Lily Allen, Amadou and Neil Young, plus some amazing landscapes and scenes from the festival.

Next week, our governments will get together in Agadir, Morocco, to talk whales. It’s the International Whaling Commission’s annual meeting. And this year, the main topic of conversation will be the IWC itself.

In reality, this is a testing time for the whales, and in many ways we need to make sure we save them all over again. Way back in the 80s when a moratorium, or ban, on commercial whaling was agreed, many countries had already stopped whaling. As the official catch figures show, by the time the ban came into force in 1987 commercial whaling was reduced to practically zero.

Come to the Greenpeace field and test out our FSC skateboard ramp

2009 was an epic year at Worthy Farm. Many festival-goers declared it the "best ever" Glastonbury. But with 2010 being the festival's 40th anniversary, we're doing all we can to make the next one even more special...

So this year the Greenpeace field goes ape with a distinctive rainforest theme, complete with hanging vines, authentic forest sounds and smells, plus more than a few of our famous orangutans, of course.

The battle over a 3rd runway for Heathrow became an iconic struggle between those of us who know the climate change threat is deadly serious, and those who preferred to gamble our collective future in search of short-term profit. And when that latter group includes such heavyweights as the Department for Transport and the British Airports Authority, you know you're in for a fight - even when the science is on your side.

In the event it took three years of hard campaigning, and the building of a huge coalition of civil society (including residents' groups Hacan and NoTRAG, local councils, Climate Camp, WWF and RSPB) to bring the runway plans down.

Unlike these pelicans, hermit crabs are less obvious victims of the Deepwater disaster (proper crab imagery below the fold, honest) © Magan/Greenpeace

John Hocevar, team leader of the oceans campaign at Greenpeace USA, is currently in Louisiana helping with Greenpeace's response to the BP oil spill. Here's his latest report from the centre of the ever-growing disaster.

Greetings from Grand Isle, Louisiana, one of the growing number of places unlucky enough to win a "heavily oiled" classification on the government maps tracking the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Despite BP's efforts to keep it under wraps, we're here to document the impacts of the spill. The public has a right - and a responsibility - to know the true cost of our continued reliance on offshore oil, and fossil fuels in general.

Love it or hate it, there's no escaping the huge football tournament that's taking place in South Africa at the moment.

You may have expected that Greenpeace would be a World Cup free zone, given that it's not the most environmentally-friendly event ever. But we're doing our bit to try and help the World Cup leave a positive legacy for the people of South Africa, and we've launched a special edition Greenpeace Giving virtual gift to celebrate.

Greenpeace Africa is providing a solar viewing area in the village of Jericho in the North West Province of South Africa. This means that villagers, who may not otherwise be able to watch the World Cup, will be able to view the matches on big screens powered entirely by solar panels.

The Climate 9 with family and friends outside court this morning.

The first major climate trial since the failure of the Copenhagen talks begins today in Aberdeen sheriff's court.

Nine members of Plane Stupid Scotland are in the dock, following their successful shut down of Aberdeen Airport in March last year. For taking direct action to highlight the climate impacts of expanding the airport - a plan closely linked to business tycoon Donald Trump's proposal to develop a new golf course complex in the area - they're now facing charges of breach of the peace and vandalism.