press releases
Last edited 4 December 2003 at 9:00am
Amsterdam/Reykjavik 4th December 2003
The people of Iceland are on the threshold of choosing a new environmental path for the future and adopting a new view of the whales in its surrounding oceans. A new finding by Gallup, the opinion research firm, has revealed that 48% of the Icelandic public thinks the existence of groups like Greenpeace is "rather important or very important."(1).
Last edited 3 December 2003 at 9:00am
Biotech companies have continually promised that genetically modified (GM) crops will benefit the environment. But now the countryside in the United States is suffering because of the rush to embrace GM.
A new study has revealed that pesticide use has increased by a massive 73 million pounds (33,112 metric tonnes) since US farmers started to grow GM crops commercially in 1996.
Last edited 2 December 2003 at 9:00am
Three hundred loggers from Porto de Moz in the Amazon surrounded our ship, the MV Arctic Sunrise, earlier this week. Local forest activists were also threatened.
Greenpeace has been exposing illegal logging in the region. Prior to the attack, we discovered a barge full of illegal logs in a remote riverside harbour. Activists painted "Crime" on 6,000 cubic metres of logs.
Last edited 2 December 2003 at 9:00am
Sea anemones on the St Kilda seamount, north of Scotland
Last edited 2 December 2003 at 9:00am
Milan, Italy - Today's (Tuesday 2nd December 2003) statement by a Russian economic suggesting Moscow is now against ratifying the Kyoto Protocol was nothing more than pre-election bluster ahead of Moscow's Duma election this Sunday, according to WWF and Greenpeace.
A Russian economic advisor to President Putin, Andrei Illarionov, had stated that he believed Russia would not ratify Kyoto in its present form, because it placed "significant limitations on the economic growth of Russia".
Last edited 26 November 2003 at 9:00am
300 Brazilian loggers, bribed by local officials with promises of free alcohol, fuel and T-shirts, converged on the Greenpeace ship the MV Arctic Sunrise in a mid-river stand-off in the Amazon yesterday (23 November). The loggers are angered by the international environmental group's ongoing exposure of illegal logging in the area.
Last edited 25 November 2003 at 9:00am
A new Government report on 'coexistence' designed to examine whether GM crops can be grown without contaminating non-GM and organic crops has failed to answer this crucial question. The report published today (Tuesday) by the Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commission (AEBC) also looks at who should foot the bill if something goes wrong. 'GM Crops? Coexistence and Liability ' is the Government's final piece of evidence in helping decide whether or not GM crops are to be grown commercially in the UK.
Last edited 24 November 2003 at 9:00am
Greenpeace calls on International Maritime Organisation to agree to mandatory controls on shipbreaking
Today (24th November) sees the start of the two week long annual meeting of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in London (1).
Greenpeace is urging IMO delegates to strengthen and improve regulations covering the breaking of end-of-life ships, such as the US 'ghost ships'.
Last edited 24 November 2003 at 9:00am
The International Maritime Organisation has decided not to expel Greenpeace for "unsafe seamanship". The charges - made by flag of convenience states and other targets of Greenpeace direct actions, were discussed at an IMO meeting on 21 November.
Prior to the meeting, thousands of cyberactivists from around the world sent messages of protest to selected delegations that were wavering or supporting our eviction.
In the final forty-eight hours before Friday's meeting, member states began to express their support explicitly.
Last edited 24 November 2003 at 9:00am
There has recently been considerable attention paid to the issue of scrapping redundant US naval vessels in the UK. The Greenpeace view is the following:
1. The UK should not import vessels for scrapping from other countries which have the technical ability to deal with their own vessels at high environmental standards. In the case of the US there is clearly the ability to scrap vessels in the country of origin to a high standard and this should be done. No further US vessels should be sent to the UK for scrapping.
