press releases
Last edited 24 February 2000 at 9:00am
Greenpeace described today's news that the German nuclear company PruessenElektra has decided to switch off its reactor and remove its BNFL plutonium fuel (MOX) as "the only responsible thing they could have done".
Greenpeace nuclear campaigner Helen Wallace said, "It is time the British Government faced facts and found the off-switch for Sellafield's reprocessing plants. Britain's plutonium business is over, and the widespread pollution and threat to human health Sellafield still produces is unjustifiable."
Last edited 22 February 2000 at 9:00am
Greenpeace today welcomed the announcement by Iceland that from this September it will be the first UK supermarket to ban meat that has been fed on genetically modified soya from its stores.
In an unusual step Iceland has directly purchased 6,000 tonnes of non-GM soya to provide a non contaminated source for its suppliers, who were facing problems purchasing non-GM animal feed. Iceland is also offering to supply the soya to other retailers, food producers and farmers.
Greenpeace Campaign Director John Sauven said, "This is excellent news for consumers. The race is now firmly on within the food industry to get rid of the largest source of GM pollution in the UK, the 2 million tons of GM soya & maize imported each year for use as animal feed."
During a recent Greenpeace survey of UK supermarkets' policies on GM foods, food giants ALDI, Co-op, Tesco and Marks & Spencer, all indicated to Greenpeace that they aim to eliminate the use of GM crops from animal feed, so that meat and animal products such as eggs and cheese will be truly GM free.
Last edited 18 February 2000 at 9:00am
18th February, 2000 - Greenpeace today urged the Government to end nuclear reprocessing and refuse BNFL permission to further commercially develop 'MOX' nuclear fuel following a series of highly critical reports into BNFL's Sellafield site, issued by the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII).
The three reports examined site safety at Sellafield, problems surrounding storage of high level radioactive waste on the site and BNFL's falsification of safety data for plutonium fuel (MOX) sent to Japan.
Last edited 17 February 2000 at 9:00am
Responding to the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate report (released tomorrow) into the falsification of plutonium data at BNFL's Sellafield plant, Pete Roche from Greenpeace said, "The whole plutonium business is rotten to the core. Removing one or two bad apples, even from the top, cannot rescue this dangerous and polluting industry".
He added, "It is time for the Government to act decisively and end nuclear reprocessing at Sellafield for good."
Last edited 11 February 2000 at 9:00am
A shipment of 30,000 tonnes of maize to Brazil will be returned to the US, following a warning by Greenpeace that some of the grain might include genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The move is the first time a shipment of GM food has been rejected since the adoption of the biosafety protocol, agreed in Montreal last month.
Last edited 7 February 2000 at 9:00am
The Government has announced its policy on renewable energy after a review that started in June 1997. It puts an on obligation on electricity suppliers to provide power from renewable sources at the cheapest price. This will encourage the use of cheap, dirty "renewable" technologies like waste incineration and excludes offshore wind, wave and solar power.
Last edited 28 January 2000 at 9:00am
31 January 2000 - The consumer revolt against genetically modified foods claimed another success today as Sun Valley, Britain's largest chicken producer, admitted that it has banned the use of GM Soya in its chickenfeed in response to public demand.
"This is a really significant victory for consumers, as up until now Sun Valley has been one of the main users of Monsanto's GM soya here in Europe" said Jim Thomas, Greenpeace Food Campaigner (1).
Last edited 26 January 2000 at 9:00am
Shareholders to choose between arctic oil or solar factory
A hundred shareholders holding over 120,000 shares today (26/1/00) forced BP Amoco's Arctic exploration plans onto the company's annual general meeting agenda by submitting a formal resolution opposing BP's controversial 'Northstar' project. Investors in BP Amoco will now have the chance to vote on whether the high-risk rig and sub-sea pipeline project in the Arctic Ocean should go ahead. The move will also give BP Amoco's 800,000 shareholders a chance to prevent the company from lobbying for the opening of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the only part of America's Arctic completely off-limits to oil exploration.
Last edited 19 January 2000 at 9:00am
Last edited 13 January 2000 at 9:00am
Greenpeace is urging the European Union to vote against lifting the current ban on the international trade in whale products at a meeting in Brussels tomorrow, Friday 14th January 2000.
EU representatives (1) are to decide whether or not to vote with Norway and Japan, in favour of lifting the current ban on the trade in whale products at the next meeting of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), to be held in Nairobi, April 2000.
