Greenpeace New Zealand Weblog

Safety drills on the Rainbow Warrior (C) GREENPEACE / Sharomov

Greenpeace is a stickler for safety. As you might have read in deckhand Alex’s profile, despite working on commercial vessels for several years, he struck a fire drill for the first time onboard the Rainbow Warrior. These fire drills are frequent occurrences, both at sea and in port. It seems that whenever there is someone new onboard, the word “drill” gets chalked on the noticeboard and at a given time, the general alarm sounds. At which point we all make sure we’ve got our pants on (just quoting the safety manual, “it is best to be clothed”) and head swiftly for the bridge deck for the roll call. And this is where the drills can take an interesting turn, because sometimes not everyone is accounted for. Which means a search must commence for the missing, possibly injured and possibly dying person. Read more »

Greenpeace ship the Rainbow Warrior blocks the State Owned Enterprise Solid Energy’s coal ship the Hellenic Sea from leaving the Port of Lyttelton. (C) Greenpeace / Dimitri Sharomov

Our action in Lyttelton was intended to highlight the double standards of a Government that happily boasts about its climate change policies while at the same time allowing the expansion of coal mining and coal exports from New Zealand.

Not only are they playing both sides of the game here, but the policies they do have in place are nothing to crow about either.

The National Party also talk a lot about climate change but don’t actually have any real policies in place to deliver emission reductions.

So, with the election approaching, we thought we’d try and find out a bit more about what the different political parties are really committing themselves to do.

In January, we sent a survey to all NZ political parties with 20 questions covering a range of issues about climate change including emission reduction targets, domestic emission reductions, agriculture, transport, energy, the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme, our international obligations, and social equity.

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Enjoying the open days (C) GREENPEACE / Sharomov

Dunedin has been a treat. From the shags hanging about on the main deck, to the record number of people who attended the open days, to the ever-changing weather, it’s been a full on and fantastic two days.

As well as two open boats, we held our third Green Drinks event on the ship last night. In Auckland and Lyttelton we were blessed with textbook late-summer evenings. Not so in Dunedin. The thunder rolled and the lightening cracked and the rain came tumbling down. The saving grace was a mighty rainbow, which draped itself over the harbour and over the ship; its pot of gold just metres away.

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Greening the Titanic

Elle magazine announces that eco-friendly fashions are hip and features Stella McCartney vegan, silk dress sandals at $495, which would work well on a date in the $100,000 Tesla electric sports car. “In this epoch of global warming,” declares Green Guide online fashion consultant Anne Wallace, “fall fashion rules are undergoing climate change: it’s OK to wear knee-high faux fur boots with a light cotton skirt and wool sweater.” Vogue magazine advises, “prepare for erratic weather by putting warmer wraps over something skimpy.” Like your awareness of the issues?
consumer trolley.

To be fair, for decades, those in the environmental movement have wanted ecology to become popular, so we can hardly complain that it is. Consumer choices impact the environment, and we might rejoice that the shopping public is aware of this. Nevertheless, since consumption itself remains a root cause of our ecological crisis, we must ask: “Who is really gaining ground and who is blowing promotional smoke?” Read more »

Jo McVeagh being interviewed for the wireless (C) GREENPEACE / Sharomov

Today was pretty much taken up with media. More FM Dunedin came on board the ship at 7:30am, just as the sun was rising over the city, and proceeded to broadcast their breakfast show from the bridge deck. Very very funny. They began by announcing to listeners that they had arrived in “hippie heaven” but by the end of the show had to admit they had not seen one unkempt dreadlocked drop-out. In fact, one of the show’s presenters, was so charmed by life on board, he’s joining us for the next transit to Wellington. My tales of at-sea-quease failed to deter him, instead earning me the title of “chunder chops” on mainstream radio. We put a couple of “Be a Climate Kiwi” t-shirts up for grabs, and the phones rang hot.

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This video gives some background to the Greenpeace climate change campaign in New Zealand and some footage from the Rainbow Warrior’s blockade of the Hellenic Sea coal shipment in Lyttelton on the 25th March.

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A Dunedin welcome (C) GREENPEACE / Sharomov

So much can happen in a week! It’s about that long since I wrote my last blog. In the meantime, you’ll have noticed the privilege was passed on to our web editor Nick, who joined the ship during its time in Lyttelton.

Now we are on our way into Dunedin. As I type, we’re sidling into port, with the albatross colony to our left and Port Chalmers to the right. Dunedin is as still and beautiful as I remember. And welcoming! I’m looking out the bridge windows and can see people along the harbour edge waving and even a group of children holding a rainbow banner. So we’re not public enemy number one everywhere after all!!

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Greenpeace ship the Rainbow Warrior blocks the State Owned Enterprise Solid Energy’s coal ship the Hellenic Sea from leaving the Port of Lyttelton. (C) Greenpeace / Dimitri Sharomov

As the dust settles after yesterday’s action it’s good to see that the story has been picked up widely in the media and we have managed to draw attention to the double standards at play with climate policy in New Zealand.

The message that there is no future in coal has been communicated loud and clear to Solid Energy, the Government and other political parties.

This morning there is a story running in the media about a claim that, due to our action on the coal shipment yesterday in Lyttelton, police did not have enough staff to respond to an incident in Christchurch which led to a police officer being assaulted by a young woman.

While we have every sympathy for the officer who was assaulted, we also believe that it is unreasonable to place the blame on Greenpeace. It wasn’t our decision that the police should choose to prioritise getting a coal shipment to market on time over other policing priorities.

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Greenpeace climbers unfurl a Target Climate Change banner while hanging from the hull of Solid Energy’s coal ship, the Hellenic Sea. Lyttelton, New Zealand, 2008. Greenpeace / Dimitri Sharomov

Activists on the side of the Hellenic Sea (C) GREENPEACE / Sharomov

The Rainbow Warrior has been boarded by police and moved off it’s position by tug boats. The three activists on the side of the coal shipment were hosed down with high pressure hoses by the crew and then removed by police. They, along with another three people in a Greenpeace inflatable, have been arrested and taken to Christchurch Central Police station.

Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, the coal ship has managed to leave port. Nonetheless we are happy to have brought attention to the double standards at play with climate policy in New Zealand.

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Activists on the side of the Hellenic Sea (C) GREENPEACE

Three activists from the Rainbow Warrior have made it across to the Hellenic Sea in a fast inflatable and have climbed on to the side of the ship. They are on the port side unfurling a large Target Climate Change banner. Another has attached herself to the anchor chain of the Rainbow Warrior.