Greenpeace New Zealand Weblog

Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS), the technological poster child for the future of the global coal industry has just had its biggest supporter pull the rug out from underneath its feet.

With the Bush administration withdrawing its support for the FutureGen CCS project the future of the project and the unnecessary and unproven technology seems doomed.

CCS was the last hope of the coal industry to stay relevant in a world hungry for carbon free energy. The idea behind CCS is simple enough, as the carbon dioxide is released from burning coal, you capture it, and dump it underground and hope it doesn’t escape and end up in the atmosphere.

The problem is that no one has successfully done it on the scale required to halt climate change and no one can guarantee that the carbon dioxide will behave and stay where it was dumped. Read more »

The Greenpeace ship was forced to leave the Southern Ocean but an Australian Government ship - the ‘Oceanic Viking’ arrived on the scene just before they left.

It was our hope that under the eye of the Australians the whaling would not resume.

However, although the Australian vessel has been following the whaling fleet since then they have reported that the fleet began whaling shortly after Greenpeace left the scene.

They have now released some shocking images and video of the whaling in the Southern Ocean including of a mother minke whale and its calf being hauled aboard a Japanese whaler.

The video us available here but be warned - it is graphic.

It’s big news on Google

Ever wonder where your beautiful BBQ table came from?

Today Greenpeace NZ along with the Indonesia Human Rights Committee released a new ‘Guide to Forest Friendly Outdoor Furniture Retailers‘. It shows that the majority of outdoor timber furniture sold in New Zealand is contributing to the destruction of tropical forests in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

Read more »

Can you create a picture that’s worth a thousand whales? Would you like the chance to win some cool Greenpeace stuff? We’re inviting Canon users to enter a new competition.

We’re looking for images that will encourage the CEO of Canon Japan, Mr. Mitarai, to speak out against whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary and live up to his company’s reputation as a wildlife defender.

The winning entry will be the one most likely to convince him that he can and should save thousands of whales by applying domestic pressure within Japan. Want to find out more?

What’s this all about?
Our ship has had to leave the Southern Ocean but the campaign to save the whales is far from over. We’re focused on shooting whales… with cameras. But we were surprised to learn that Canon, the world’s number one digital camera producer, isn’t willing to condemn using harpoons — despite their high-profile advertising and sponsorship programmes dedicated to wildlife and endangered species.
Read more »

In the 30 years that the Rainbow Warrior has sailed the oceans of the world it has touched the hearts of many but, perhaps more than anywhere, it is here in NZ that the Warrior is most loved.

After working in Indonesia late last year the Rainbow Warrior is now in New Zealand undergoing some repairs and getting a new coat of paint at the Whangarei shipyard. We’ll keep tabs on progress here over the coming weeks but first — a little history. Read more »

Just came across this on the Be The Change website. A Christchurch couple, Matthew and Waveney, have challenged themselves to a ‘rubbish free year’.

The challenge is for our household to create no rubbish for the landfill from 1st February 2008 to 1st February 2009. However it is very likely that, despite our best efforts, some rubbish will be unavoidable. We challenge ourselves to keep this in no more than one official council rubbish bag.

And they look serious! They’ve got a website and they’ve got a plan …

Read more »