All articles
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Wanted: Polar explorers. No experience required.
In just over two weeks I will be standing on the frozen Arctic ocean, preparing to ski to the North Pole. I'll be wearing four layers of fleece and a special hat that someone knitted for me. In my pockets I'll carry some almond chocolate, an iPod, and a declaration of hope for future generations.
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Australian coal exports: a climate change boomerang
The Australian continent might be about 4,000 km wide from east to west, but even the far west coast cannot escape the winds of Cyclone Rusty and the alarming impacts of climate change caused by coal mining, such as the planned Galilee Basin project, in the nation's east.
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Arctic melting: The science behind the ice
Two of the scientists travelling with Greenpeace on the Arctic Sunrise are Dr Julienne Stroeve, a research scientist at the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre (NSIDC), and Nick Toberg, an ice scientist at Cambridge University. I asked them what research they would be able to do on the ice, and for some insight…
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Mega mine, mega catastrophe
When Minister Burke described the environmental assessment of Gina Rinehart’s controversial Alpha Coal Project as “shambolic”, he wasn’t joking. But now he has given his own rubber stamp to the project, revealing the profound failure of the regulatory system in Australia. Blogpost by John Hepburn The project is big by global standards, with a 30…
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Macken Sense: And the winner is….
Last week produced two powerful stories that define the perimeters surrounding the increasingly contested space in Australia’s economic and energy future. Just as history is written by the victors, there’s little doubt the future is in part created by the stories that prevail today – but which one will win the day? The first…
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Munmorah made me the criminal I am today
This week saw a small step taken towards the energy revolution in Australia as Munmorah, one of the oldest and dirtiest coal power stations in the country, announced its closure. Munmorah is near the New South Wales central coast and has been burning black coal since 1967, before Greenpeace was even founded. It had already…
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Macken Sense: How change happens…..
Everyone from the fossil fuel industry to Greenpeace’s own Executive Director, Kumi Naidoo, has conceded Rio + 20 was a total waste of space. Naidoo’s take on it was pretty simple: ”Rio has turned into an epic failure. It has failed on equity, failed on ecology and failed on economy.” Apart from that it was…
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Towards an Environment of (Gender) Balance
I was recently humbled to accept an invitation from UN Women Executive Director, Michelle Bachelet, to join her Global Civil Society Advisory Group. In reflecting on the appointment, I’d like to call to your attention the passionate environmentalist and politician Wangari Mathaai. Blog by Kumi Naidoo, Executive Director of Greenpeace International It’s almost a year since Wangari’s passing;…