During the weekend it emerged that there was a problem with the Copenhagen ‘Treaty’. No, it wasn’t the fact that there is no agreement on financing, targets, or one of the other many sticking points on the road to securing the sort of climate deal that we so desperately need.
Instead, the problem was with the […]
The Economist calls it “The Inconvenient Truth about the oceans”. It’s The End of the Line, a riveting major documentary that investigates the overfishing crisis facing our oceans. This fascinating documentary will soon be showing in Melbourne, Hobart, Adelaide, Newcastle and Sydney.
The End of the Line documents the massive demand for bluefin tuna that could […]
Toru Suzuki is a Greenpeace anti-whaling activist from Japan. One of the Tokyo Two, he was arrested last year after exposing a whale meat embezzlement scandal that rocked the Japanese Government-funded whaling industry and made front page news.
Toru recently visited Australia, meeting with politicians, government officials and the public to provide an insight into the […]
On Sunday October 11th, the Australian community will again voice its opposition to the coal industry, in the next of a series of protests at coal infrastructure around the country.
This time the protest is in Helensburgh, south of Sydney, at Australia’s oldest coal mine. Despite the fact that coal is Australia’s biggest contributor to climate […]
Here’s a few rather alarming figures for you. We are now less than 70 days from the crucial Copenhagen Climate Summit, where world leaders are due to meet and forge the successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol. Between now and then we have only 3 weeks of official negotiations remaining, most of which will take […]
Climate change debates sometimes feels like reading a bowl alphabet soup: IPCC, UNFCC, CCS, PPM and so many more acronyms it can get just plain silly.
The diversity of acronyms is matched only by the plethora of ways to express action on climate change: 40% on 1990 levels by 2020, 50% aggregate equivalent gases on 2000 […]
We’re very lucky here to be graced with volunteers who are not only super passionate about the environment, but also super talented.
Today we farewell one of our volunteers, Steph, who’s been with us for 10 weeks, and worked across our campaigns. And we found out a talent she’s managed to keep secret until today. By […]
It could be the storyline for a movie. Four women from across the globe land in New York City just days ahead of world leaders arriving for join one of the most important climate change talks ahead of the UN summit in Copenhagen.
Back home, these women experience the very real impacts of climate change. […]
Greenpeace/Paul Hilton
Gabriel, or Gabe as we normally call him, is another one of our Brazilian nationals on board. He is currently the assistant leader for the dive team, responsible for documenting the marine life as well as patiently holding campaign banners under water, among other tasks. And by the way, Gabe is our champion FAD […]
Greenpeace/Paul Hilton
The fuel tanker Fong Seong 888 refueling the purse seiner MV American Legacy. Both are owned by the Taiwanese Chen family network of Companies.
The number 8 in the Chinese culture is considered a lucky number, as the word for eight sounds similar to the word meaning ‘prosper’ or ‘wealth’ . I am pretty sure […]
Greenpeace/Paul Hilton
For Marco Ferraz, being a crew member of the Esperanza is a dream come true. He had always wanted to work for Greenpeace and by a stroke of good luck, he was able to join the ship in Cairns just in time for the first leg of Defending our Pacific Tour. The 29-year old […]
Greenpeace/Paul Hilton
Tereapii, or Tere, as we call him for short, is the bosun, one who supervises the deckhands and helps the first mate in maintaining the ship, on the Esperanza. He is from the Cook Islands, where they depend largely on ocean resources for food and livelihood. He is one of the four Pacific activists […]
Greenpeace/Paul Hilton
Feeding a crew of 34 can be quite a daunting task for one person. So, here on the Esperanza we have two crew members working hard in the galley to make sure the crew does not go hungry. Assisting Pato, our Argentinian cook, in preparing our delicious meals is one of our Pacific Activists, […]
Greenpeace/Paul Hilton
Just two days ago, the Japanese purse seiner, Fukuichi Maru was pulling in its purse seine net, heavy with freshly caught tuna, when we found them fishing in area 2 of the Pacific high seas. Floating and attached on their left side (or port side as we refer to it in nautical terms), was […]
Greenpeace/Paul Hilton
From the village of Susui on the island of Vanaubulavu, Fiji comes Manasa Dosilele Tagi. He started as a volunteer in 2007 to assist the IT and AV department of the Greenpeace Suva office. And just recently, he completed his higher diploma in Software Engineering and is currently working on completing his bachelor’s degree […]
It was an eventful and activity-filled week (daily FAD and illegal fishing boat watches!) of sailing in the Pacific. I had imagined that patrolling these waters and finding something would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. After all, the Pacific is the biggest Ocean in the world!
But I was proved wrong.
We […]
The change of government in Japan in a landslide victory to the Democratic Party of Japan provides new hope of a shift on Japan’s whaling policies – especially if the Australian government plays the right cards. Although whaling is not an issue where the Democratic Party differentiates itself from the outgoing Liberal Party, a range […]
A few days back, we hauled on-board a Fish Aggregating Device (FAD), a device used by purse seiners to attract tuna. A lot of marine life was spared from certain fishy death that day.
We were pleased to see that our FAD expose generated positive comments (after all, we are in the middle of the […]
A black dot.
Peering through the binoculars, thats how the Taiwanese fishing vessel appeared, silhouetted against the horizon.
The past few days activities have been like tricks from a magician’s hat – you never know what your hand will pull out. Just yesterday, we fished out a banned fish aggregating device (FAD). Today, during a routine reconnaissance, we […]
Cassandra Strakosch worked on our “Voices from the Frontline” Pacific speakers tour during her recent internship. She is now filling in for our Volunteers Co-ordinator while he has a much deserved break. Having been personally touched by our Pacific speakers tour, she is excited to introduce an upcoming photo exhibit and forum on climate change […]