Greenpeace, WWF Barking Up the Wrong Trees

submitted by a member

Peeling the Green Mask Off the NGO Faces

Once again the true faces of Greenpeace and WWF as green fronts for selected multinationals are exposed

It’s becoming rather obvious, even to the “naive third-worlders,” why the  NGOs  are barking up the wrong trees. Thankfully, it won’t be so easy to replace the “green” pretenders!

Recently, Greenpeace accused the Brazilian government of colluding with cattle ranchers, aiding and abetting Amazon deforestation.

Now they are attacking  the Indonesian  government for removing a moratorium on palm oil expansion into peatlands. For more information see below.

The “developing” world’s biggest “crime” is POVERTY!

Greenpeace knows that for every $100 of Brazilian beef and hides’ products sold in the US, Italy and UK, less than $15 goes to the growers. The monetary gains made by Indonesia’s palm oil industry falls in the same ballpark.

It’s IMPOSSIBLE to curb deforestation in Amazon, Indonesia … without first addressing the poverty issue.

The following are excerpts from

Competitors behind palm oil slurs: industry boss

http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE5522QK20090603

Western countries are using climate change as an excuse to constrain palm oil production in Asia because it competes with Western business interests, Indonesia’s palm oil industry chief said on Wednesday.

Indonesia and Malaysia produce most of the world’s palm oil — a product used in cooking, chocolate, cosmetics and as a biofuel — but vast areas of forest have been cleared in both countries since the 1980s to fuel a boom in palm oil production.

Environmental groups including WWF and Greenpeace have called on Indonesia to curb deforestation and palm oil expansion.

However, Joefly J. Bahroeny, head of the Indonesian Palm Oil Producers’ Association, said that NGOs could be part of a campaign driven by Western business interests in competing commodities such as rapeseed, soybeans and fossil fuels.

“It’s all about business,” he told a forum of palm oil producers.

“Palm oil has become a competitor as biofuel not only with rapeseed products but also a real competitor to fossil fuels controlled by Western interests. Do these other people truly care about global warming? Or do they also want to get rich with the excuse of climate change?”

Bahroeny said his industry had been accused of killing orangutans, burning forests and selling a product high in cholesterol.

“Now it’s climate change. We don’t know their real reason but we are suspicious. What next?” he said.

Related Links:

• Phew, It Was a Jungle Out There!
• Protesters Buy Up UK Airport Land
• “You can be sure of Shell !”

[There are very many great, committed environmentalists/ individuals who inadvertently provide a “green” cover for Greenpeace and the like.]

Protesters Buy Up UK Airport Land

Greenpeace Land Purchase: Campaign ruse or environmental activism?

Anti-expansion protesters bought land earmarked for London Heathrow’s third runway

A coalition of environmentalists have bought land [about 5,000 square meters] in Sipson village, said to be right in the middle of the proposed new terminal for London Heathrow’s 3rd runway. The proposed runway and terminal area would force the demolition of hundreds of homes in the area, reports said.

Words “our climate – our land” are written on the plot. Source: Greenpeace. Image may be subject to copyright.

The new owners,  a Greenpeace coalition have pledged not to sell the land to the government or the BAA, should the airport expansion be approved by the planning

Source the BBC/BAA.

Greenpeace said: “Heathrow expansion isn’t only an issue for those of us unfortunate enough to live on the flight path. If expansion goes ahead Heathrow will become the largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions in the whole country. And the government’s plans to expand airports across the UK will make it impossible for us to meet our commitment to reduce emissions and stop runaway climate change.”

FEWW Comments: We hope this is a genuine move by Greenpeace, and not a political stunt [meant to buy them ‘street cred’ and  endear them in the hearts and minds of the new generation of environmental activists,] which was pulled off after BAA and others had already scuppered plans for the third runway because of worsening global economy and a sizable contraction in tourism and  air travel.

More on this story:
http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/blog/climate/join-plot-stop-airport-expansion-20090112

More Whaling? No Way!

Submitted by a CASF Member

Folks, It’s High Time We Said to Japan: Enough Is Enough!

NO MORE WHALING!

Here’s a report that caught our eye earlier. It’s about two environmental activists who have been charged with stealing a box of whale meat in Japan while conducting a covert operation to expose the Japanese whaling authorities … We [CASF Members] don’t necessarily agree with Greenpeace tactics, or trust their management [because of their abject failure, or lack of commitment, in making the world a better place, or achieving any lasting objective, whatever;] however, the anti-whaling activists have our support!

A lactating mother and her calf? Why, they taste better together? Japan has said the pictures were misleading and did not show a lactating mother and her calf. (Australian Customs Service)

Japan charges Greenpeace members over whale theft

TOKYO (Reuters) – Environmental group Greenpeace said on Friday two of its activists had been charged with stealing a box of whale meat while conducting a covert operation into suspected cases of embezzlement.

The public prosecutors office in Aomori, northern Japan, charged Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki with theft and trespass, the group said in a statement.

Workers rest after butchering a Baird’s Beaked whale at Wada port in Minamiboso, southeast of Tokyo, June 28, 2008. Whales emerged the big losers as a weeklong International Whaling Commission meeting wrapped up in Chile on Friday, conservation groups said after anti-whaling nations failed to halt No. 1 hunter Japan. REUTERS/Toru Hanai (JAPAN). Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

A spokesman for the Aomori Public Prosecutors Office declined to comment.

Greenpeace had used the meat as evidence when complaining to prosecutors that members of Japan’s whaling fleet crew shipped large quantities of the meat home, which they said amounted to embezzlement.

Japan has come under fire from environmentalists and foreign countries for its whaling program. The government says its whaling is for scientific research purposes.

Commercial whaling was banned under a 1986 international moratorium, but Tokyo has campaigned for a lifting of the ban, saying whaling is part of the country’s cultural tradition.

A recent poll showed that a majority of Japanese support whaling, although whale meat is now less popular among the public than in the past.

The country’s fleet caught only 551 minke whales compared with a planned 850 in its latest Antarctic hunt, after obstruction by anti-whalers. (Source)

Japan says its whaling is legal and part of its culture.

We Say: NOT ANYMORE!

Let’s Stop Japan Whaling!

Related Links:

• Sea Shepherd
  

“You can be sure of Shell !”

Shell nixes wind project, UK government peeved

LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell Plc plans to sell its stake in one of the world’s largest wind farm projects, much to the annoyance of the the UK government, project partners and environmentalists.

Shell is one of three shareholders of London Array, which plans to erect 340 turbines with a combined generating power of 1,000 MW on a 20km stretch along the Thames Estuary, east of London. [The other two are the German utility E.ON AG and Denmark’s state-controlled DONG (!) Energy.

The upstream (search, recovery and extraction of crude oil and natural gas) provides about 70 percent of Shell’s revenues. [The Arguello Inc. Harvest Oil Platform is located about 10 km off the coast of central California near Point Conception. Photo: NASA JPL]

Accused of “hypocrisy” by environmentalists, Shell is the world’s second-largest non-government controlled oil company.

“We’re very disappointed that Shell — which touts itself as a progressive green company — is pulling out of the London Array project and leaving a key clean energy project high and dry,” Friends of the Earth Energy Campaigner Nick Rau said. (Source)

Apart from the obvious, what is it about Shell that people so intensely dislike?

In Europe and most of ROW, I’m told, “you can be sure of Shell!” That is, you can be sure that Shell is the bête noire of the major oil corporations. My colleague who lives in London, England, reminds me about the non-stop demonstrations Greenpeace held against Shell in the late 70s and early 80s. Everyone, understandably, despised Shell: “Out! Out, with Shell!” But What about the other majors like ExxonMobil (the direct descendant of Rockefeller’s Standard Oil company) and BP (then British Petroleum), the world’s largest and third largest oil and gas corporations respectively? Were/are they really “greener” that Shell? The interesting point was that Greenpeace in London, home of the BP, never uttered a word in anger against British Petroleum.

It’d be interesting to find out why!

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