Greenpeace's activism : Too radical or too peaceful ?
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Greenpeace_V.L. Hunter
While Greenpeace manages to hold media and public attention with its variety of non-traditional actions, it has been the object of considerable criticism, originating mostly from governments and industries, but also on occasion from other environmental organisations. Many critics claim that some of Greenpeace’s activism is too radical. Some believe that it is this kind of activism that has led to the decline of membership and support for Greenpeace, which, in the past decade, has lost about 2 million members. Indeed, membership decreased significantly in the mid-1990s, especially in Canada and the US. Presently, Greenpeace numbers approximately 2.8 million members, mainly in Europe.
On the other hand, there are some critics of Greenpeace who believe that the organization is not radical enough. One such example is Paul Watson, an important Greenpeace activist who eventually jumped ship to create his own organisation, called the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Watson, who is known to have damaged property such as the vessels of whalers and drifters, considers Greenpeace’s actions simply not confrontational enough.
Founded in 1971 by a small group of environmental activists, Greenpeace has continued over the years to support peaceful direct action, at the same time insisting more and more on internet activism and emphasizing the role of the individual. For example, a booklet came out on the internet, downloadable in PDF form, concerning the different kinds of paper that should be used for household tasks, such as toilet paper and paper towel. According to Gerd Leipold, current International Executive Director of Greenpeace, "The environment is not a question for specialists; it is an issue for everybody." He adds that Greenpeace’s success is visible in some areas more than others, especially where Greenpeace has been active longer. Europe’s rivers are now obviously cleaner than they were when Greenpeace first began its work. Latin America and Asia are more recently targeted areas, and Greenpeace is only just beginning to see results of its labour there.
Fighting US Nuclear Testing
Greenpeace first attracted world attention in 1969 when a group of mostly Canadian environmentalists decided to stop the underground nuclear testing that the US government planned to carry out in Amchitka, a small island off the West coast of Alaska. They bought an old and small boat, the only one they could afford, and whose owner was willing to sail out to sea with them. Baptizing the boat Greenpeace, this group of volunteers sailed out toward Amchitka, not only braving the bad weather conditions, but risking the effects of nuclear leakage as well. Though their mission ended in failure, with the US carrying out the detonation as planned, all was not lost. In their efforts to draw public attention, they managed to gain the support of environmentalists as far away as New Zealand and Australia and managed to draw the attention of the Canadian government. They even caused some discord in the U.S. Supreme Court where a special session had to be called on the subject. Most importantly, however, they gained considerable media attention. Greenpeace soon discovered that they had fallen upon the most important method for igniting public debate and interest: they had discovered ‘mind bombs’.
It was Bob Hunter, co-founder of Greenpeace, who first gave ‘mind bombs’ their name. What he meant was the fusion of complex environmental issues into simple and strong messages. He reasoned that an article portraying the struggle between a small boat and a superpower could have a much stronger impact on the public, inciting both action and debate.
Amchitka thus set the tone for the rest of Greenpeace’s operations. Officially established in 1972, its members strove to bring attention to areas in which environmental damage was occurring. Then, through a variety of non-violent, though at times confrontational, methods, they endeavoured to expose these issues, often by attacking governments and corporations, in this way trying to gain media interest, support and coverage of their causes. Though they did abstain from violence, Greenpeace’s actions were often controversial, and even at times bordered on illegal, its activists getting caught more than once for minor offences such as trespassing.
Gaining worldwide popularity amid controversy
The members of Greenpeace undoubtedly were a very outspoken group; the more attention they received, the more successful they were bound to be. It did not take long before their idea gained popularity in many countries worldwide, most specifically in Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand. By the late 1970s it became evident that all the disparate branches of Greenpeace that had sprouted the world over needed to be brought together under one umbrella organization to ensure their effectiveness. Through much coordination and restructuring, Greenpeace International, newly based in Amsterdam, was officially founded in 1979.
Over time, Greenpeace widened its focus to include more diverse environmental concerns such as preserving the biodiversity of oceans and forests, preventing further global warming, and ending atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons, to name just a few.
Because of the nature of Greenpeace’s work, the mere presence of its activists has the ability to provoke opposition. For example, in a very recent endeavour, in August 2005, Greanpeace activists attempted to stop the controversial, and in many Western countries illegal, practice of bottom trawling – the dragging of massive nets along the ocean floor. They were unable to achieve their goal of painting the word “Legal?” on an Icelandic fishing boat, due to harsh weather conditions and being sprayed with water by the boat’s crew. Greenpeace did, however, manage to attract much media attention on that occasion leading to more pressure placed on governments to put an end to bottom trawling.
Greenpeace’s peaceful protests have also sparked considerable debate and controversy, and once even ended in tragedy. In 1985, Greenpeace was strongly protesting French nuclear testing at Moruroa atoll in the South Pacific Ocean. On the evening of July 10, 1985, French frogmen attached two bombs to the hull of the Rainbow Warrior, the ship on which the Greenpeace group was sailing. The bombs went off in close sequence, sinking the ship and killing the Portugese photographer and Greenpeace activist Fernando Pereira.
Though at first the French government denied involvment in the bombing, it eventually conceded, after much media attention, that a French secret service agent had posed as a volunteer at Greenpeace to ferrett out information concerning the Rainbow Warrior’s activities, following which the bombing was ordered. A formal apology by the French government was issued in 1987, and, in 2005, an article in Le Monde revealed to the world the bombing had, in fact, been ordered by then French president François Mitterrand.
This tragic incident, though unique, shows how some of Greenpeace’s actions, in essence peaceful, can provoke violent responses.
Greenpeace’s popularity higher in Europe
Despite its North American origins, Greenpeace derives most of its financial support and members from Europe, where its popularity is considerably higher than in the United States. Some believe that the decline in U.S. membership began after Greenpeace spoke against the first Gulf War in 1991. As a result, the organization is much more effective at protesting environmental concerns in Europe. During a campaign against genetically modified foods, European press covered the issue extensively and gave the issue wide recognition, raising concern about these foods among European consumers. In the United States, the same issues received considerably less media press and public attention.
Greenpeace is a non-profit organization and will only accept donations from individuals, not governments. It tries to remain completely independent, and maintain its name separately from any other interest group or party. At the same time, Greenpeace does not mind working in partnerships; on the contrary, it tries to operate with local environmental groups worldwide in order to attain its goal.
One such group that Greenpeace works with is Equiterre, in Montreal. Founded in 1993, Equiterre has been working to promote environmental consciousness, especially in the areas of ecological agriculture, fair trade produce, sustainable transportation and energy efficiency.
According to Marie-Ève Roy of Equiterre, despite the different approaches of the two environmental organizations, they are often quite complementary. There are many angles to cover when dealing with the environment, many different methods of lobbying on a governmental level and of reaching a broader public. She explains that Equiterre tends to focus on smaller changes that have more concrete impact, changes that people can adopt in their day-to-day life, such as drinking fair-trade coffee and using public transportation instead of personal vehicles. Though their methods vary, Roy notes that most Canadian environmental organizations mostly speak with one voice. “We work a lot together. In Quebec, we are quite a united group.”
“What’s important”, she adds, “is that we are fighting to save the environment, and the only way to do that is to stand together.”
See also: Bob Hunter, profile of a visionary