japan
Posted by bex — 19 July 2007 at 1:59pm
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On Monday, an earthquake hit Kashiwazaki in north-western Japan, killing nine people and injuring hundreds more. Already a disaster for the citizens of Kashiwazaki, thousands of whom are now living in shelters, things could have been much, much worse.
Kawashaki is the location of the world’s biggest nuclear power plant – the site of seven nuclear reactors. At first it was thought that the 6.8 magnitude earthquake had just caused a fire at the plant and Tepco – the nuclear company - initially said no radioactivity was released. "No harm" was done, said a spokesperson.
Then we were told that in fact there had been a leak, but it was only 1.5 gallons of radioactive water. On Tuesday, it emerged that just a smidgen more radioactive water might have leaked than 1.5 gallons. About 243 times more. And the water was 50 times more radioactive than had been stated.
Posted by jossc — 1 June 2007 at 4:22pm
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Cetacean bycatch victims displayed in Berlin, Germany, last month
Well the last vote has finally been cast at this year's International Whaling Commission (IWC), all the results are in - and there's good news! Last year's St Kitts Declaration, an attempt by pro-whaling nations led by the Japanese government to restart commercial whaling, was decisively rejected. Anti-whaling countries have bounced back with a 37-4 vote for the CITES Resolution, which strengthens the commercial whaling ban.
Posted by jossc — 24 May 2007 at 10:38am
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It's time for us whale lovers to hold our breath and cross our fingers yet again as we watch developments at the 59th meeting of the International Whaling Commission, now underway in Anchorage, Alaska.
For the past few years the IWC, charged by the United Nations with protecting whales, has been the focus of serious lobbying by some whaling nations to allow a resumption of commercial whaling - suspended since 1986 following a dramatic decline in the number of great whales worldwide.
Posted by jossc — 10 March 2007 at 3:56pm
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MY Esperanza arrives in Sydney, Australia
We're taking our anti-whaling campaign to Japan, where the government plans to increase its whaling activities despite opposition from two-thirds of the Japanese public.
Last edited 25 January 2007 at 9:00am
The Greenpeace ship, Esperanza will sail from Auckland tomorrow, as part of a global campaign to bring an end to whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.
As well as the expedition, which will be the eighth one to the Southern Ocean, the campaign will focus on engaging with the 69 percent of people in Japan who do not support whaling (1) in the Sanctuary, by generating a global crew to campaign together through a new website http://whales.greenpeace.org.
Last edited 11 January 2007 at 5:23pm
A Greenpeace volunteer in front of an Icelandic whaler
Commercial whaling during the last century decimated most of the world's whale populations. Estimates suggest that between 1925, when the first whaling factory ship was introduced, and 1975, more than 1.5 million whales were killed in total.
Last edited 8 November 2006 at 9:00am
One of the ironies of the fight to end commercial whaling is that over the past decade whale watching has shown the potential to become far more profitable than whaling ever was. It is already generating a staggering $1.25 billion per year globally.
Whale watching takes advantage of the fact that most whales are migratory, moving around the oceans at different times of the year to breed and feed. Much of this migration takes place in coastal waters, where large whale pods can often be clearly seen, either from small boats or from the shore.
Last edited 1 January 1970 at 1:00am
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Last edited 18 June 2006 at 8:00am
St Kitts and Nevis - 16 June 2006: Campaigners today breathed a sigh of relief as pro-whaling nations led by Japan failed to gain a majority on the opening day of the International Whaling Commission's (IWC) annual meeting, in St Kitts. Greenpeace announced their plans to return to the Southern Ocean this year to oppose Japan's continued 'scientific hunt' which will target 935 minke whales and ten endangered fin whales,warning that there is no time for complacency. (1)
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