Blog: Climate

Message from the Rainbow Warrior: stop coal and kick start clean energy

Posted by bex — 22 October 2008 at 2:06pm - Comments

Kick start clean energy

"Kick start clean energy" written on the side of the Rainbow Warrior in LEDs, with London buildings behind. © Will Rose / Greenpeace

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Captain MikeThe Rainbow Warrior is a ship full of stories; everywhere on the ship there are photographs of the non-violent direct actions Greenpeace has taken over the years, artefacts from our campaigns, painted totems donated by Native Canadian people, pictures drawn by visitors to the boat, and portraits of crew members past and present. And every time you talk to someone who knows the ship and her history intimately, like the captain, you get the chance to hear more.

There's no way I'd have time to pass on all the stories I'm hearing but I am going to try and record a few of them for you, starting with Mike, the Captain (pictured), telling last night's guests the story of the Rainbow Warrior sailing into the Moruroa test zone. It's quite a story - have a listen to this mp3:

But our visitors last night didn't just hear stories from the past. They also got to hear - and see - a good deal about our present campaign: to give coal the boot and kickstart a clean energy revolution.

Article tagged as: audio, climate change, coal, coal ship tour, kingsnorth, multimedia, rainbow warrior

Follow the Esperanza in Google Earth

Posted by jamie — 22 October 2008 at 11:09am - Comments

Follow the Esperanza around Indonesia in Google Earth

As the Rainbow Warrior sweeps into town, here on the other side of the planet the Esperanza is sailing through the warm waters of the old Spice Islands. We left Manokwari on Monday and are currently en route to Jakarta, slipping past bewitchingly exotic names such as the Ceram Sea, Buru Island, the Halmahera Sea, Selat Sagewin, the Banda Sea... I could go on.

If you're trying to place these exotic names, you could do worse than download the Google Earth layer which is tracking the progress of the Esperanza through Indonesia (you'll need to install Google Earth first, of course, but there's a plain map version below). I'll be posting highlights from the tour there, and it will update automatically so check it often for the latest stories, videos and other titbits from our expedition.

Oh, and we saw whales yesterday.

Article tagged as: climate change, esperanza, forests, google earth, ships

Pete's blog - first day on the Rainbow Warrior

Posted by bex — 22 October 2008 at 8:55am - Comments

Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior coming through Tower Bridge

The Rainbow Warrior coming through London's Tower Bridge. © Will Rose / Greenpeace

See all Rainbow Warrior tour updates or get them by email.

Pete - Rainbow Warrior crewPete is a volunteer deck hand on the Rainbow Warrior.

I'm only on the Rainbow Warrior! With some awe and trepidation, I joined the ship yesterday afternoon. It's now Tuesday night and, fighting to keep my eyes open, I look back on my first, very full, day on board.

An early start to move the ship to Tower Bridge. With two RHIBs (Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats) in the water, slightly twitchy river police turn up in a launch and escort us all the way up the Thames. It's impressive, the power Greenpeace has to motivate others...

Article tagged as: climate change, coal, coal ship tour, london, rainbow warrior, ships

The Rainbow Warrior - big city, bright lights and night watches

Posted by bex — 21 October 2008 at 5:50am - Comments

View Larger Map

I'll be adding to this map throughout the tour (zoom out to see events during the global tour).

See all Rainbow Warrior tour updates or get them by email.

Some time yesterday morning (was it really yesterday morning?), I left the Greenpeace office, took a short tube ride eastwards, crossed a gang plank and fell through a rabbit hole into the weird and wonderful world that is a Greenpeace ship. And not just any Greenpeace ship, but our flagship Rainbow Warrior II, which is so tied up with Greenpeace's history. 

Article tagged as: climate change, coal, coal ship tour, energy, give coal the boot, rainbow warrior, ships

Activists urge Italy to quit coal

Posted by jossc — 20 October 2008 at 10:21am - Comments

Activists fron Arctic Sunrise take the "Quit Coal" message to Sardinia

As the Rainbow Warrior arrives here to embark on the UK leg of of her worldwide "Quit Coal" tour, activists from another of our ships, Arctic Sunrise, have been busy putting coal in the hot seat in Italy.

"Small variations in global temperatures have vast consequences. The last Ice Age was only six degrees colder than today. A global rise of just 0.8 degrees has melted the Arctic."
Johann Hari: Don't kill the planet in the name of saving the economy »

Five of them scaled a 150 metre crane at a new coal-fired power plant in Civitavecchia, near Rome, to drop a banner highlighting the fact that Italian government policy effectively opposes the Kyoto Protocol. Meanwhile another five activists painted "No Carbon" and "Quit Coal" in giant letters on the power plant's dock from an inflatable boat.

Article tagged as: arctic sunrise, co2 emissions, coal, EU, italy, kyoto protocol

A year in the life of the Rainbow Warrior - on a mission to stop coal

Posted by bex — 17 October 2008 at 3:32pm - Comments

Rainbow Warrior

See all Rainbow Warrior tour updates or sign up to get them by email.

With only one sleep to go until the Rainbow Warrior gets here, I was planning to tell you about her adventures over the past year, when she's been on a mission to get the planet to quit coal - trailing the odd campaign victory in her wake But then I noticed Captain Mike Finken has done it for me, on the Making Waves blog. Here's a snippet:

Article tagged as: climate change, coal, coal ship tour, kingsnorth, mike finken, quit coal tour, rainbow warrior, ships

Labour: we will cut emissions by 80 per cent by 2050

Posted by bex — 16 October 2008 at 6:28pm - Comments

Greenland

Has somebody put something in the water around Westminister? On Tuesday I found myself waxing lyrical about a new Tory announcement. Today it's Labour's turn. Frankly, I'm a little freaked out.

Ed Miliband - he who thousands of you congratulated when he got his new job as climate change secretary - has announced a new emissions reduction target for the UK. We will, he said, reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent by 2050, compared to 1990 figures.

Article tagged as: climate change, ed miliband, emissions, targets

Tories: "we will stop a third runway"

Posted by bex — 14 October 2008 at 5:15pm - Comments

Heathrow Airport

I still suspect I may have fallen down a rabbit hole but apparently it's true. Two weeks after formally telling the world they're opposed to a third runway at Heathrow, the Tories have issued an extraordinary warning to companies. Don't get involved in any contracts to build the third runway, they're saying, because we're "absolutely determined" to stop the project going ahead. (Oh, and they're opposed to a second runway at Stansted too.)

Article tagged as: airport expansion, aviation, climate change, heathrow, heathrow expansion, third runway

UK thwarts EU crack down on gas guzzlers

Posted by jossc — 10 October 2008 at 1:58pm - Comments

Cars are responsible for 12 per cent of all CO2 emissions across the EU Cars are responsible for 12 per cent of all CO2 emissions across the EU

Once again our government's green credentials have been put to the test and found wanting. Presented by the EU Parliament with a perfect opportunity to force Europe's motor industries to reign-in their gas guzzling, climate damaging ways, they opted instead to give in to the demands of the car lobby.

Article tagged as: climate change, co2 emissions, EU, gas guzzler

Stansted and City airports get the expansion go ahead

Posted by bex — 10 October 2008 at 9:45am - Comments

Stansted Airport

There've been two new blows to the UK's prospects of tackling climate change in the last couple of days.

First, City Airport got permission to increase flights to and from the airport by up to 50 per cent - despite the presence of dozens of flashmobbers registering their opposition outside Newham Town Hall (where the decision meeting was taking place), and local planners, teachers and campaigners from a number of organisations inside the hall. And despite the fact that the airport representatives couldn't and didn't even try to answer the accusations that they'd lied and their noise figures were inaccurate.

Article tagged as: airport expansion, aviation, city airport, climate change, coventry, stansted
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