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Ice stories, in glorious colour
Posted by bex on 20 February 2008.
An iceberg made of hard, dense ice reflects late evening light
© Greenpeace/Cobbing
Oooh, this is gorgeous. I know some of Nick Cobbing's photographs pretty well (he's done a fair bit of work for Greenpeace in the past) but, on the advice of our picture editor, I went to have a nose around his website where he's organised some of his photos into stories.
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Arctic glacier caught speeding
Posted by bex on 21 July 2005.
Independent scientists on board the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise have made a dramatic discovery about the Greenland glacier Kangerdlugssuaq. Preliminary findings show that the speed of the glacier has increased beyond all expectations and it is now travelling at three times the speed it was in 1988 making it one of the fastest moving glaciers in the world.
Kyoto saved: not yet the planet
Posted by bex on 22 October 2004.
smokestack
The Russian parliament voted to ratify the Kyoto Protocol today in a blow to George W Bush's opposition to action on climate change.
Kyoto coming to force is a geopolitical ground shift. Russian ratification pushes this global climate protection agreement over the threshold required to become international law.
Kyoto saved: not yet the planet
Posted by bex on 22 October 2004.
smokestack
The Russian parliament voted to ratify the Kyoto Protocol today in a blow to George W Bush's opposition to action on climate change.
Kyoto coming to force is a geopolitical ground shift. Russian ratification pushes this global climate protection agreement over the threshold required to become international law.
Star Wars and Thule:
Greenpeace Nordic briefing
Publication date: February 2002
Summary
The issue of upgrading the early warning radar at the US
base in Thule (Pituffik) in North-West Greenland as part
of the US missile defense system is the most import
foreign policy issue in Greenland and Denmark for many
years. In order for the Bush administration to push ahead
with Star Wars, the use of radar facilities at Thule in
Greenland as well as at Fylingdales and Menwith Hill in
the UK is required. The Danish government, which
administers the foreign and defense policies of
Greenland, therefore has the power to stop or seriously
delay Star Wars, which threatens to ignite a new nuclear arms race and jeopardize key arms
control agreements.
Stop Star Wars Greenland tour 2002: Biographies
Stop Star Wars Greenland tour 2002: Biographies
Mads Flarup Christensen
Danish campaigner
Age 29
Mads' love of, and interest in, Greenland goes back to the early 1990's when he and his family lived in the Greenland village Kangaamiut.
Today Mads is based in Copenhagen. He has worked for Greenpeace for eight years and his current focus is Greenpeace Nordic's campaign against the Star Wars missile defence system. And last year he joined the ship MV Arctic Sunrise on the Greenpeace Stop Star Wars tour of Greenland, taking direct action to the Thule Air Base.
For Mads, it is not sleeping in a tent in minus 35 degrees Celsius, or skiing nearly 600 kilometres in harsh weather conditions, which will be the biggest challenge of this expedition. It is meeting the people of Greenland and talking to them about Star Wars and how the missile shield will affect both normal life in Greenland and world security in the future. He wants to talk to as many people as possible during the tour.
Andreas Rydbacken
Swedish video and stills photographer
Age 28
Andreas is a TV and stills photographer. When not freelancing for Greenpeace, he works on a current affairs programme for TV4 in Stockholm.
Andreas was also on board the MV Arctic Sunrise during the Greenpeace visit to Greenland in August last year. He became fascinated with the culture and nature of Greenland. And although his work for Greenpeace has taken Andreas around the world - Thailand, Svalbard, Antarctica and the USA - it is Greenland that retains a very special place in his heart.
Dog sled tour takes Stop Star Wars campaign to top of the world
Dog sled tour: Greenland 2002
Greenpeace campaigners this week set off on a dog sled tour to visit isolated Greenlandic communities and collect testimonies of their opposition to Denmark giving the US permission to use the Thule radar base in Greenland as part of the US Star Wars system.
Five campaigners on skis accompanied by two sleds pulled by 16 Greenland dogs will visit five separate communities in the Disko Bay area of the island's west coast (1) - the most populated area north of the capital Nuuk.
Weather conditions permitting they will travel between 400-600 kilometres over the next four weeks, braving temperatures from minus 15 to minus 45 degrees celsius to reach the communities and collect their testimonies on video. Greenpeace plan to take these testimonies to decision makers in Washington later this year and to the Nuclear non-proliferation treaty Conference in New York in April.
"The majority of Greenlandic people do not support the Star Wars system, and certainly don't want it based on their soil. Greenpeace will help these isolated communities to have their voice heard by the United States, even if it means we have to use dogs, sleds and skis to do it." Said Greenpeace Disarmament Campaigner, William Peden.
This years expedition is a follow up to last years tour of Greenland by the Greenpeace ship, MY Arctic Sunrise. More than 1200 Greenlanders visited the ship and many gave video testimonies expressing their deep concerns about the possibility of living under the threat that the US Star Wars system would present.
The US needs consent from Denmark and the UK to use radar and tracking facilities on their territories. The Danish and UK Governments have adopted a wait-and-see stance on the issue, saying they will decide on the matter only after they have received a formal request from the US to adapt facilities at Thule in Greenland and Fylingdales in the UK.
"Greenland and Denmark along with Britain have the power of veto over the use of facilities on their land for the US Star Wars plans, it is time to exercise that veto. To do anything less can only be viewed as being complicit in starting a new nuclear arms race", said Greenpeace expedition leader Mads Christensen.
Editors notes:
Weather and ice conditions permitting the expedition will for the next month travel between 400 - 600 kilometres in the DiskoBay area over the next three to four weeks where the only mean of intercity ground transportation at this time of year is dog sleds and skis. The DiskoBay is at the heart of North Greenland and is the most populated area north of the capitol Nuuk. Temperatures range from -15 to -45 Celsius (5 to -49 Fahrenheit) with the wind chill factor bringing the temperature down as low as -80c. Each sled will be loaded with 200kg of equipment and the Greenpeace campaigners will be skiing alongside the sleds.
The next test of the ground-based segment of the US Star Wars plans is scheduled to happen on 15 March and the US military are asking for a further $7.8 billion USD to fund their expanded Star Wars development program in 2003.
1) The Dog Sled Expedition plans to visit the communities of Ilulissat, Ilimanaq, Qasigiannguit, Ikamiut, Aasiaat.
Further information:
Contact:
Greenpeace press office on 020 7865 8255
Phone interviews with members of the expedition can be arranged and stills of the dog sled expedition setting off across the ice are available on request from Greenpeace Communications (Amsterdam), Photo Desk +31 20 524 9580
Greenland Testimonies video is available from Greenpeace International video desk (Amsterdam) +31 20 524 9509
Greenpeace expedition in West-Greenland
Greenpeace expedition in West-Greenland
Greenland can make a difference for global security by saying no to Star Wars
Five Greenpeace campaigners, two sleds, 16 dogs and 400 kilogrammes of equipment have set off on an expedition across the ice of West Greenland.
The plan is to visit as many towns and villages in the Diskobay area as possible - to find out how local people feel about US plans to use the Thule early-warning radar base in Greenland, as part of their controversial Star Wars missile defence system.
Weather conditions permitting, the team will travel between 400-600 kilometres over the next four weeks, braving temperatures from -15 to -45 degrees celcius, to reach isolated communities and collect their testimonies on video.
Greenpeace plans to take these testimonies to decision makers in Washington later this year, and to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty Conference in New York in April.