GREENPEACE

Founded 31 years ago by two Canadians, Jim Bohlen and Irving Stowe, and by American Paul Cote, Greenpeace has today its headquarters in Amsterdam, but has also branches in Latin America, Asia, North Africa and Oriental Europe. Greenpeace nowadays is the first and only organization not government to establish a base in Antarctic and its arrival, in the 1989, was accompanied by the launching of pop music album "Breakthrough", that sold half million copies in few hours.

Greenpeace hasn’t alliances with parties and hasn’t political position apart from the protection of environment. Greenpeace is financed by the contributions of about 3 millions supporters stationed in 160 countries: it’s independent from governments and societies.

From its birth, Greenpeace has had a determinant role in the fight:

· against fleets of whaling-ships in North Sea;

· against discharges of radioactive wastes in Japan Sea;

· against mining utilization of Antarctic;

· against industrial fishing with trawl net;

· against French nuclear test in Moruroa.

But in the last years, Greenpeace has focused on four primary objectives:

THE MENACE OF TOXIC SUBSTANCES – World has been filled of toxic and polluting substances that start from western Countries, where chemical substances have produced industrially, to poor countries where toxic wastes have often exported and chemical industries have founded new factories to avoid pollution controls. It’s clear that many chemical compounds cause numerous problems in a lot of animal species and in men too.

Greenpeace is looking for establishing new measures of pollution prevention with the planning, the development and the usage of method of secure production of alternative materials. The fight is very hard because many countries don’t help Greenpeace protecting chemical industries.

THE NUCLEAR MENACE – The existence, the experimentation, and the growth of nuclear arms remain one of the large menaces for human survival. For 25 years Greenpeace has protested against nuclear test of all 5 official nuclear countries, (Great Britain, China, France, Russia and United States) and has had a determinant role in the suspension of these tests. Moreover, the transport and the discharge of radioactive wastes submit potential catastrophic risks for men and environment. At the same time, the increases of cases of cancer around nuclear centrals remain dangerously high. Greenpeace persist for the complete elimination of nuclear energy and for a responsible management of the slag.

THE BIODIVERSITIES MENACED – In the history of planet is the fist time that a lot of resources are consumed and squandered at benefit of one species: today men appropriate of 40% of terrestrial resources. Millions of other species are satisfied with what remain. Some scientists consider that, with the increase of population and of human activities, is probable that half of terrestrial species disappear in the next 50 years. Greenpeace’s campaigns to protect biodiversities are concentrate in the prohibition of fishing with trawl net and on safeguard of forest.

THE ATMOSPHERIC MENACES – Life on earth would be impossible without the ozone layer that protect earth’s surface from ultra-violet rays. But chemical compounds that continue to be introduced in atmosphere disrupt this barrier: Greenpeace is working for new energetic and renewable sources, such as solar and air power, and to find substances that don’t damage the ozone layer.

Greenpeace is active on many fronts and is fighting against the troubles that men has provoked and is still provoking: unfortunately only engagement of Greenpeace isn’t enough because the help of all is necessary to face this terrible problem of the millenium.

Written by Giovanni Ferrario (free13@itcgbianchi.mi.it)