Greenpeace

My friend Kate and I think the Greenpeace Organizing Term is pretty rad; so much so, that we're currently working for it!  We're talking to students all across the country about the student activist training program that Greenpeace runs, and here's what Kate has to say about her awesome experience in the GOT:

Hello from San Francisco!

My name is Kaitlin Finneran, and I’m a student at the University of North Carolina—Greensboro.  In the fall of my sophomore year, I joined a brand-new environmental club on campus.  One day, a girl came in to talk about Greenpeace, so I checked out the website and found the page for the Greenpeace Organizing Term. I was in awe over the program description and applied right then!
 
When I was accepted into the program, I thought I would learn about environmental issues and work with Greenpeace for a bit. What I ended up getting out of it was so much more valuable: I now have the skills and the confidence to organize people around a cause, and I’ve learned how to pass those skills on to others. I also discovered the importance of collective effort, and that we must learn how to unite people in order to tackle the major problems that face the earth today.

My action-packed semester with the GOT included some awesome trips around the world, from getting community support in Tucson, Arizona, that successfully pressured Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords to sign onto the Safe Climate Act, to joining a direct action in Hamburg, Germany, against the construction of new coal-fired power plants. And one of my favorite success stories was getting the University of California—Berkeley to kick Kleenex off of its campus… I even helped write the resolution that was passed by the university’s Student Senate!

The Greenpeace Organizing Term is literally an action-packed semester, and is basically the best hands-on training for student activists like you to become environmental leaders.  Kate and I are confident telling you this because the GOT is going to give you a lot more skills and experience than you would ever learn in a typical internship.  Think about it: When was the last time an environmental victory was won by fetching coffee for a guy in a suit?

The grassroots organizing and campaign skills that you'll learn from trained professionals will lay the foundation for you to succeed in future semesters as part of the Greenpeace Student Network, as well as the rest of your life and career.

Take a look at what some of the GOT alumni are doing now:

• Emily Russell-Roy (Fall '04 alum): Working for the Pacific Forest Trust on climate policy
• Zo Tobi (Fall '04 alum): Northeast Regional Organizer for the Sierra Student Coalition
• Andi Plocek (Spring '05 alum): Director of Marketing, Sky Fuel
• Rohini Banskota (Summer '05 alum): Working on making Colorado College climate neutral
• Kyle Saari (Spring '06 alum): Greenpeace field organizer
• Gabe Gerow (Spring '06 alum): Greenpeace Organizing Term coordinator
• Suzanne Graham (Summer '06 alum): Greenpeace field organizer
• Christine Irvine (Summer '06 alum): Youth Organizer, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
• Christy Hartman (Fall '06 alum): Sierra Student Coalition Organizer in WV, OH and PA
• Whitney Kraner (Fall '06 alum): Arizona PIRG
• Georgia Hill (Fall '06): City Coordinator, Greenpeace Los Angeles Frontline program
• Christina Alexa-Liakos (Fall '06 alum): Board member, Greenpeace Student Network
• Audry Mills (Fall '07 alum): Board member, Greenpeace Student Network

Ready to make a change for yourself and the environment?

Apply now to be a part of the Greenpeace Organizing Term!

Your fellow activists,

Josef Palermo and Kate Finneran

Josef again, your friendly Web Editor in Washington, DC! Here's the latest update from the 2009 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah; written by my colleague Willie MacKenzie, an Oceans campaigner with Greenpeace UK.

Dramatic title perhaps, but maybe not quite so far-fetched. Here in sunny Sundance, one of the questions that has been coming up repeatedly at showings of the End Of The Line movie is ‘what about Climate Change?’ assuming, rightly, that a warming planet will have implications for our fish populations too. Well my practised response to this before I got here was simply that the effects of Climate Change make all of the issues of rapacious overfishing all the more important. They make the need for precaution when it comes to fishing, and the need for fully protected areas essential.

Then, just as we got here to promote a movie on overfishing, we find out that there’s a new article published in Science that shows a direct link between fishing and the effects of climate change. Yes folks, fish poo can help save the ocean, by locking up carbon.

So, the moral of the story is, that if we take all the fish out of the ocean, we increase acidification from Climate Change (and make it worse for everything else in the ocean in the process).

In the US, departing President Bush has left a ‘blue legacy’ behind him, showing that where there’s a political will, there’s a way. But whilst the US is ahead of many in creating protected areas, and arguably better at enforcing its fisheries, there is still a long way to go. The US imports most of its fish, and a visit to the local supermarkets here in Park City reveals some quite alarming species on display on the fish counter. The two stand-outs are Chilean Sea Bass (also known as Patagonian toothfish) –which is fished using indiscriminate long-lines (that kill albatrosses) and has a huge amount of illegal fishing too: Orange Roughy, a deep-sea fish that lives to be up to 150 years old (how do you fish that sustainably, exactly?) and is often caught by bottom trawling seamounts.

That these species are still readily available shows how far we have to go, but it also shows something else – that everyday consumers can have a huge impact by simply not buying them.

And remember, every Orange Roughy and Chilean Sea Bass that doesn’t get fished helps save the oceans by simply doing its own business…

Josef here in Washington, DC! You may have heard that some colleagues of mine are currently in Park City, Utah, attending the 2009 Sundance Film Festival to help draw attention to the plight of overfishing on our seas as documented in the Sundance entry End Of the Line. Willie MacKenzie, an Oceans campaigner from Greenpeace UK, has joined our international delegation at the film festival and brings you this latest report.

So, what’s the movie we’re here in Sundance with about then? Well it’s an adaptation of Charles Clover’s brilliant book on overfishing, the End Of The Line, which is an evocative, and shocking portrayal of what we have done, and are doing to our oceans – just to put seafood on our plates.

Seafood is a global issue, and practically nowhere on our seas is beyond human reach now – the movie gives an overview of the main issues like overfishing, destructive fishing and poor management. The movie takes a global look at the true price we’re paying for our seafood, vividly illustrating the impact we’re having, but that very few of us even realise.

All-too-often the things that concern us in the ocean involve what we refer to as “charismatic megafauna”– the big cuddly animals that people like to like. But if you really do care about whales, dolphins, seals, turtles, and seabirds, then you have to care about all the other sealife too. They can’t exist in isolation, and as well as killing these critters directly as “bycatch” we are also trashing their homes, and destroying their food sources too. To add insult to injury the disastrous effects of excessive and destructive fishing are all compounded more by the other ways we upset the ocean, like the impacts of climate change and pollution.

The film really gives you a vivid idea of just how vast, and urgent the issue is. And, as Charles Clover himself says in the film, at a time when human population is increasing exponentially, and when the impacts of climate change are affecting us all, unless we act now to stop overfishing, we will have squandered one of the most important natural resources we have.

So, assuming you care about the ocean, whether you just like the cuddly animals, or like the amazing, fascinating, weird ones, or assuming you like eating fish – this matters to you. And the film explains succinctly why. The oceans belong to all of us, not the fishing industry, the oil & gas industry, or the politicians who seem to listen only to them - and all of us need to claim them back.

Yet, there is still hope. And if there is one message from the movie to take home (and one that’s all the more relevant being in the USA today) it’s that change is possible. If we want to move to sustainable methods and levels of fishing, then we can. And we can give our oceans protection by creating no-take Marine Reserves.

So if you’re wondering if this problem is one we can solve – the simple answer is “Yes, We Can.”

Check out the trailer online now at www.endoftheline.com

Most of us associate the holiday season with winter and all things white – but this year, we here at Greenpeace also want to make it green.

Over the years, other Greenpeace staff members and I have found ways to show our commitment to green principles during the holidays – a season known for contributing the most waste to landfills than any other time of the year.  The other day, I asked my colleagues to share their ideas on creating new holiday memories with loved ones while keeping the environment in mind.  From our family to yours, here is what we’ve come up with.

GIFTS

“Recycle your gift bags! You can always reuse them for something else... Or even when you give another gift.” – Kala Sharp, Human Resources Associate

“Give gifts of Greenpeace membership!” – Sebastian Jannelli, Direct Marketing Production Coordinator

“Last year, I told my family that instead of gifts, I would appreciate it if they just incorporated something “environmental” into their lives.  That Christmas, my aunt and uncle gifted me by deciding to cut down on paper-towel use, while my mother and stepfather said that they would save energy by plastic-sealing the windows of their house and turn off the hot tub for the winter.  Others did other things.” – Ben Bliumis, Toxics Campaign Fellow

“Most people don't need more stuff – so ask your family and friends to contribute to the cause of your choice or theirs – it’s a great feeling and you don't have to worry about what you are going to do with that weird gift from your Aunt Sally.” – Lisa Finaldi, Campaigns Director

“Support Greenpeace’s efforts to fight global warming so that Santa won't be homeless when the ice at the North Pole melts.  If we are successful, we can turn things around and eventually it will re-freeze!” – John Hocevar, Oceans campaigner

“I use the comics section of the newspaper to wrap my gifts!” – Sandeep Singh, IT Project Manager

“This year, my family has decided not to buy gifts for each other and instead, we are all using the money we would have spent on gifts and sponsoring a local family.  We are not doing this to be "green" per se—though it might help to offset my flight home to visit!” – Andrea Carlson, Forests Campaign Assistant

“Gift an experience, rather than a product.  A day at a spa or a climbing lesson is much better for the planet.” – Amanda Starbuck, Student Organizing Manager

“Never underestimate the power of a handmade present!” – Sarah Vito, Development Assistant

“You want a greener holiday?  Instead of lumps of coal for bad children, give them seven days of hard labor building the clean energy infrastructure of windmills and solar farms... A clean energy revolution built on the backs of bad little kids everywhere.  Santa is watching and he likes the environment.” – Nate Stellhorn, Frontline Senior City Coordinator

DÉCOR

“Use potted Christmas trees instead of chopping one down... You can even keep the tree year-round.” – John Baker, IT Solutions Specialist

“Holiday greeting cards can be recycled in grade school art projects, but one idea is to start mailing them back with new greetings inside.  It’s a fun way to rekindle old memories.” – Bob Meyers, Senior Photo Editor

“Solar-powered LED lights are a far better option than traditional holiday lights.” – Carroll Muffett, Deputy Campaigns Director

“Candles are a beautiful, inexpensive, and lower-carbon alternative to illuminating your home for the holidays.” – Marina Djernaes, Finance Director

“I buy my Christmas ornaments at thrift stores; it’s cheaper, and you get cool vintage decorations.” – Elise Nabors, Regional Canvass Campaign Coordinator

“Put your holiday lights INSIDE the house so they annoy you enough to turn them off and save energy!” – Candace Crespi, Frontline Senior City Coordinator

“A great and green way to engage children young and old – while creating holiday memories – is to have everyone get together to make homemade holiday decorations like popcorn strings, glittered pine cones, and gingerbread houses.” – Josef Palermo, Web Editor

“Instead of buying Christmas stockings, make them out of old, worn-out T-shirts.  I made one for each of my roommates, and they love them!  It's even easy for a novice to sew.” – Meg Imholt, Communications intern

FOOD

“Bake cookies or brownies out of organically grown ingredients and give them as gifts.” – Melanie Duchin, Oceans campaigner

“Why support the meat industry – which contributes more to global warming than the auto industry – this holiday season when you can eat endless organic vegetables and grains?” – Ashley Schaeffer, Greenpeace Organizing Term (GOT) Coordinator

“Source your Christmas dinner with local food and beverages. Not only does it taste better because it’s fresh, but it is packed with more nutrients which are otherwise lost in preservation techniques used to transport foods.  You’ll also be helping reduce the carbon emissions associated with trucking food across the country.” – Kate Rooth, Researcher

“Get a keg instead of beer cans for your drunken family Christmas bash.” – Ryan Patterson, Global Warming Campaign Assistant

“You know the food your mom makes that you don’t like?  Put it in compost.” – Phil Radford, Grassroots Director

Your fellow activist,

Josef Palermo,
Web Editor

Here in Washington, DC, Monday morning commutes on the Metro can feel like a prison sentence.  So this past Monday morning, when over a dozen Greenpeace activists dressed in orange jumpsuits and boarded the Red line train to Dupont Circle, people probably had no idea what to think of us asking for a prison sentence of our own.

By the time our “chain gang” of fourteen reached the top of the escalators, we’d been joined by two whales carrying picket signs and Greenpeace USA’s esteemed executive director, John Passacantando.  We were heading to the Japanese chancery on Embassy Row with one message to the government of Japan:  If defending whales is a crime, then arrest us, too. 

On June 10th, 2008, the Japanese government arrested and detained two of my colleagues at Greenpeace Japan—Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki—for the “crime” of exposing a whale-meat embezzlement scandal.

In a matter of days on December 10, 2008, a group of executive directors from five Greenpeace national offices will travel to Japan to deliver their requests to Prime Minister Taro Aso of Japan.  This international delegation of Greenpeace executive directors will demand that Japan re-open the investigation of the whale meat scandal and of whaling itself.  And, like my fellow activists and I did this past Monday morning, these executive directors will put themselves forward as "co-defendants" with our colleagues Junichi and Toru.  December 10 marks the sixtieth anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights, and the declaration defines the rights of every human on the planet—including the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the right to a fair and public trial, and presumption of innocence.

Monday mornings might seem like our prison sentence, but our planet’s prison sentence lies in whaling and Japan’s jailing of average people like you, me, Junichi, and Toru, who are working hard to save the environment.  I hope you choose to join me and countless other activists around the world this week who are telling the Japanese government to arrest you, too, for the "crime" of saving the whales.

Your fellow activist,

Josef Palermo
Web Editor