Oil Drilling

BP are out, but the race is still on.

Posted by jamess — 26 August 2010 at 10:23am - Comments

So it's official: BP are out of the arctic oil race. Word is that our confrontation with Cairn Energy is scaring off the oil giant. In the words of a senior source, "with the Greenpeace ship already harassing Cairn off Greenland - a company which has an exemplary safety record - everyone realised it would be political madness to give the green light to BP".

Article tagged as: arctic, BP, cairn, climate change, deepwater horizon, go beyond oil, gulf spill, oil, oil drilling

How many Arctic cowboys does it take to lasso an iceberg?

Posted by jamess — 25 August 2010 at 12:24pm - Comments

Will Rose, independent photographer who regularly works with Greenpeace. He writes from the Esperanza...

We’re in and out of internet range now so I’m not sure when this will go up on the website. As if to mark the occasion thick swirls of fog have cut us off from the recent blue crisp Arctic horizon. 

The crew are subdued but in good spirits albeit a little tired after the rough Atlantic crossing, long working days and the sudden lack of awe inspiring scenery of Greenland’s coastline. Sailing in towards the mountains around Nuuk after being starved of land felt like sailing into a new world, a different planet which for those who hadn’t seen it could only silently gaze in amazement bereft of the ability to speak.

Article tagged as: arctic, cairn, climate change, climate impacts, go beyond oil, greenland, icebergs, oil, oil drilling

From the Gulf to the Arctic

Posted by jamess — 25 August 2010 at 11:26am - Comments

Sim, US activist, writes again from the Esperanza.

In the months following the explosion and subsequent sinking of BP’s Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig, I spent nearly three weeks in Louisiana’s Gulf coast bearing witness and assisting in documentation of the largest oil spill in US history. I stayed on Grand Isle, a vacation and fishing community that was described to me by its inhabitants as paradise. But it was far from a paradise during my stay - with clean-up crews in white protective suits working around the clock to protect their coastline from the devastating effects of the oil spill and toxic sludge visible on the beaches and marshes. I got a brief glimpse of a way of life that will be deeply changed forever in the aftermath of the oil spill.

Article tagged as: arctic, cairn, esperanza, go beyond oil, greenland, gulf spill, oil, oil drilling, oil spill

Black gold and mountain shaped clouds

Posted by lisavickers — 22 August 2010 at 1:36pm - Comments

Anais takes a break from her chores on board to ponder about what's on the horizon and why we're here...

There are more and more visits by our distant relatives - the whales -as we journey onwards and they are a welcome distraction from our busy daily routine. It's one of the unspoken ship's rules to drop grease guns, chipping hammers and carpentry tools at any time, and get one personal minute of wonder holding onto the railing, viewing the spouts. Perhaps this mixed feeling of wishfulness and emotion is because we feel connected to these mammals who were drawn from the land to the ocean - just like us.

I also love these funny moments of confusion when formations of dark blue clouds appear close to the horizon. It makes me wink, rub my eyes and after a second look they appear not to be just mountain shaped clouds but actually land. Greenland this time.

Article tagged as: climate change, esperanza, go beyond oil, oil, oil drilling
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