Greenpeace is a global and independent campaigning organization that does peaceful protest and creative communication to expose environmental problems worldwide and promote essential solutions to a green and peaceful future.
The Work
Greenpeace works to make the world a better place. Their dedicated activists and supporters have worked to ban commercial whaling, influence the world’s leaders to end nuclear testing, protect Antarctica, and much more.
Today, Greenpeace grew from a small group of passionate activists to an international organization with offices in over 50 countries. The organization’s fight to save the planet has grown more serious – the climate change consequences, loss of ancient forests, decay of the oceans, and the threat of a nuclear disaster show in full.
Greenpeace challenges the policies of power and privilege that ruin the environment and add excessive burdens on vulnerable populations.
History
A group of passionate, dedicated citizens came together in 1971 to start Greenpeace. A small group of determined activists leased a small fishing vessel, called the Phyllis Cormack, and set sail from Vancouver for Amchitka Island in Alaska. Their mission was to protest U.S. nuclear testing off Alaska’s coast. They used a brave act of defiance and placed themselves in harm’s way. Even though the U.S. Coast Guard intercepted them, these brave activists brought worldwide attention to the dangers of nuclear testing.