#savethearctic

Sydney Harbour Bridge was barely visible through the smoke and amber coloured sky. Men covered in protective clothing sprayed water at the blazing bush. A row of four ducks swiftly waddled their way out of danger.

That was the first time I had seen my new home, Sydney, for over two months. I couldn’t smell or feel the burning heat from the fires but I witnessed the fires and their destructive paths on the TV, the TV inside my Russian prison cell.

Prirazlomnaya.

It’s certainly a mouthful, but it’s also the new name – and face – of Arctic destruction today. This giant Russian platform is set to be the first to try and commercially produce offshore Arctic oil anywhere on the planet.

Last week we tried something new. We had teams out across the country shutting down Shell petrol stations to protetst their plans to drill for oil in the Arctic this summer. But that wasn't the new part, we've done that before. We wanted to find a way to bring the experience of the activists to everyone who supported the campaign but couldn't be out on the streets themselves. So we decided to run a live, 12-hour broadcast of the action, with the footage being played out as it came in, or with a short delay.