The Greenpeace story begins 39 years ago – in 1971. A group of concerned citizens were outraged by the US government’s insistence on nuclear testing on the Alaskan island of Amchitka. These pioneering environmentalists sprang into action, spreading the word about the government’s plans. … read moreJoan Baez, the iconic folk singer, hosted the Amchitka concert in Vancouver, Canada and released an album.
From the money raised, a ship was chartered and set sail for Amchitka to force the US to stop its nuclear testing in the region.
Amchitka, an uninhabited island, was the last home of the endangered sea otter and a safe home for bald eagles and peregrine falcons. It was also tectonically unstable. The activists were scared that the nuclear tests would cause a tsunami and destroy the entire island.
Called the ‘’Don’t make a wave committee”, the group was stopped by the US Navy from actually landing on Amchitka, but by the time they’d returned to Canada, the entire world knew what they’d tried to do against the mightiest superpower in the world. And so Greenpeace was born.
By the end of the year, the US had banned nuclear testing on Amchitka, and the island was declared a bird sanctuary.
Today Greenpeace operates in 40 countries, funded by donations from 3 million supporters. It is headquartered in Amsterdam, from where it coordinates its efforts to save the world for future generations.