Greenpeace Campaign: The Polar Bear and the Warship

Hello readers,

The following email was sent to me earlier today by Nick Young, Head of Digital at Greenpeace NZ. This is a vital campaign, please support it in every way you can!

Cheers,

Robert.

The Zeitgeist Is Changing

http://thezeitgeistischanging.blogspot.com

Join us to secure the Arctic as a global santuary for all life on Earth before it's too late. Sign up at www.savethearctic.org

Dear Robert,
This time last year I was aboard one of the Greenpeace ships in the Arctic. I saw things there that will remain with me for the rest of my life. From the stark beauty of an Arctic sunrise, to the horrible wrongness of a dirty oil rig amongst the icebergs and the simple bravery of my crew-mates who took action against it in that harsh environment, it’s all unforgettable. But the one image in particular that haunts me is of a warship bearing down on a young polar bear sitting alone on the sea ice. For me it captures the plight of the Arctic in one frozen moment. Our captain warned the warship of the bear’s predicament in time for them to alter course, so catastrophe was averted on that particular day - but the bear’s plight continues. Global warming, retreating sea ice, a looming oil rush and increased militarisation all spell doom for the polar bear and many creatures like it that live in the Arctic. To put it bluntly, polar bears are dying out and global warming threatens them with extinction while Shell aims to invade their home and drill for oil in extremely risky conditions where a spill would be impossible to contain. It’s up to us to draw a line in the ice and say no. That’s why we have launched one of our biggest global campaigns ever. We aim to create a global sanctuary in the high Arctic - making it off limits to oil drilling and other industrial activities. Folk like Paul McCartney, 'One Direction' and our very own Lucy Lawless - as well as over 200,000 others have already added their names to our “Arctic Scroll” in the first week! Can you join them now by adding your name and help us create a global sanctuary in the high Arctic where polar bears and the other living creatures that call it home will be protected? Big oil companies like Shell - who have played a major part in creating this environmental crime - are now ready to take advantage of the retreating sea ice. It’s up to us to keep offshore oil drilling out of the Arctic and save the polar bears' home. We can only do this with your help. Act now! Click here: http://www.savethearctic.org Your name, together with the first million Arctic defenders, will be added to a scroll we'll plant on the North Pole seabed together with a Flag for the Future to demand world leaders declare the Arctic off limits to oil drilling and industrial fishing and create a global sanctuary in the area around the North Pole. Thank you very much for your support, Nick and the whole crew at Greenpeace PS When we first launched savethearctic.org so many people went to the site all at once it overloaded and crashed - so apologies if you found it not working but it is all working perfectly now so please do try again.
GREENPEACE AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND 11 Akiraho Street, Mount Eden, Auckland, New Zealand 0800 22 33 44 | info@greenpeace.org.nz