Greenpeace acts like the most cutthroat corporation I've ever heard of. I worked for a company that did fundraising for "progressive" non-profit organizations, and Greenpeace was one of their clients. They hired us to do a campaign based on a bill that would supposedly go a long way towards banning factory fishing trawlers. The bill was sponsored by Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska, a noted anti-environmentalist and oil industry hack. When I expressed surprise at this, the Greenpeace representative said "That's what's so great - we got him to come around on this issue."

About midway through the campaign, Greenpeace started getting a lot of flack from other environmental groups for its position. They argued that, far from working towards banning factory trawlers, the bill would set up the most generous regulations possible for large fishing companies - whereas before there had been next to no regulations. Regulating the industry would be a good thing, they argued, but we should try to do more than just take the industry's suggestions and implement them. Greenpeace was the only "legitimate" environmental group that supported the bill.

One of the groups calling Greenpeace to task was Earth Island, a smaller offshoot of Greenpeace and a sometimes client of the company I worked for. So we got an ultimatum, a golden opportunity, a velvet glove over an iron fist. Greenpeace would give us all of their fundraising work (several million dollars worth per year) if we would stop working for Earth Island, a ploy worthy of Bill Gates. The company I worked for, having even deeper ethical problems of its own, readily accepted the offer.

Of course, Greenpeace needed somewhere to put their fundraising work. They had just shut down all of their canvassing operations, and many other functions nationwide, in an effort to consolidate as much as possible in Washington, D.C. and enjoy the perks that come with being a full-time lobbying organization.

All in all, an impressive display in anti-competitive practices, downsizing and centralization.

Greenpeace, much to the confusion of most, is not a single organization. The parent organization, Greenpeace International does do a lot of the work in setting up campaigns, getting different countries to work together, and making sure that services are available to all National and Regional Offices (NRO's). Greenpeace has offices in about 32 countries/regions including Israel, China, Brazil, and New Zealand. Greenpeace International also has three ships, the Rainbow Warrior (the second of that name- France sunk the first), the Arctic Sunrise and the Esperanza.

The idea of Greenpeace was formed in 1971 by a group of activists who sailed from Vancouver, Canada in an old fishing boat named "Phyllis Cormack" and later "Greenpeace" to witness to the United States' underground nuclear testing at Amchitka, Alaska. Amchitka was home to over 3000 endangered sea otters and also bald eagles and peregrine falcons, not to mention countless other forms of wildlife for which this was a last refuge. The activists' boat was intercepted before they reached the island, but the public's interest had already been sparked and the bomb was detonated anyway. As a result of the public awareness about the issue, nuclear testing ended on the island five months later and it was declared a bird sanctuary.

In 1973, Greenpeace sailed to Moruroa in the "Vega" to protest nuclear testing by the French. The boat was boarded by commandos who beat David McTaggert, the boat's owner. When McTaggert prosecuted the case in French courts, the government said, "It is very possible that McTaggert's attitude, reinforced by the reactions of certain countries and certain groups, caused the government of France to think again." The French limited their testing to underground testing the next year and in 1975 Greenpeace opened its first offices in the United States.

Later causes and victories included protesting the seal hunt in Newfoundland in 1976 which produced worldwide bans on seal hunting and restrictions on the trade of seal products, the banning of sperm whaling by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in 1981 and all commercial whaling by 1985, an end to toxic waste incineration by 65 countries by 1994, an international ban on mining and drilling in Antartica until 2048, and the end of nuclear testing by the five nuclear powers in 1996.

Today Greenpeace is based in Amsterdam and has over 2.8 million supporters across the world and offices in 41 countries. On their web site, they say they organize public campaigns for:

• The protection of oceans and ancient forests.
• The phase out of fossil fuels and the promotion of renewable energy to stop climate change.
• The elimination of toxic chemicals.
• The prevention of genetically modified organisms being released into nature.
• An end to the nuclear threat and nuclear contamination.
• Safe and sustainable trade.

They do not accept funding from any government, corporation or political party since it feels that donations from these and other donations could affect the organization's independence, aims, and objectives. Instead, the organization relies on the donations of individuals and grants from foundations and claims to have no permanent allies or enemies.

Greenpeace has a fleet of ships which are used to sail to remote areas to "bear witness and take action against environmental destruction." They fleet includes:

• The MV Esperanza - The newest and largest boat in the fleet, launched in February, 2002
• The SV Rainbow Warrior - The ship's name was inspired by a North American Indian prophecy which influenced the group on the first Greenpeace voyage
• The MV Arctic Sunrise - A former sealing ship bought through a company called Arctic Sunrise Ventures Ltd in 1995
• The MV Argus - The smallest boat in the fleet which works mostly along the North Sea coast of the Netherlands and monitors pollution
• The Greenpeace balloon - Carries a pilot and two passengers and needs a ground crew of three. It has flown over the Berlin wall in 1983, the United States nuclear testing site in Nevada in 1987, and over the Taj Mahal during nuclear protests in India in 1998

You can "join" or rather donate to Greenpeace online here: https://www.greenpeace.com/forms/gpicontr.html

Sources:
http://www.greenpeace.org/
http://www.greenpeaceusa.org/
http://www.greenpeace.org.au/