July 29, 2015

 

This month we’re celebrating 50 years of Greenpeace not with cake and candles, but with a history of in-your-face resistance and victory.

At a time when so many people feel powerless to stop the destruction of our planet, it’s important we remember how our donors, our activists, and our community partners took action to change the world — and change the future. And let’s recommit ourselves to our shared vision of a green and peaceful future for all.

Greenpeace has won many such victories, big and small. But we can’t send you hundreds of emails. So, we’ve selected one moment per decade to share with you. Do you remember this?

It was July 29, 2015. Shell had leased an icebreaker to crack deeper into Arctic waters and set them up for oil drilling in the Chukchi Sea off the coast of Alaska. But we met them at St. Johns Bridge in Portland, Oregon. We blocked them. We hung banners and activists over the side to confront them. And the world took notice.

This year, President Biden suspended new leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It’s not the end of this fight, but it’s another powerful reminder — what we do today may ripple for months and even years.

The key is a sustained, UNRELENTING effort. You make that possible as a member of our millions-strong global community, but there’s plenty of work ahead of us as we look toward the next 50 years of Greenpeace. Can you give $20.21 or more a month to help advance our critical grassroots campaigns?

The protest that day in Portland was about saving the Arctic. But it was also about so much more because for five decades, Greenpeacers have fearlessly exposed and confronted environmental abuse — and demanded environmentally responsible solutions.

Bottom line: If we’re going to save our climate — and polar bears, and our planet — we have to stop the greedy, reckless, irresponsible pursuit of fossil fuels.

That’s why we’re working to end fossil fuel subsidies. Instead of giving $15 billion in direct subsidies to private fossil fuel companies, and letting them dig and drill on public lands, let’s invest in renewable energy for our future!

That future is now. The climate crisis is already here. The recent report from the IPCC confirmed what Greenpeace has been saying for years. We could be facing a total planetary collapse if we don’t end fossil fuel use now and accelerate the transition to renewables.

It’s not a fight we can win today. But the actions we take today will set the stage for victory. That’s been the lesson of the last 50 years. We have to keep fighting — month after month.

Please help continue this fight by making your most generous gift to Greenpeace today.

Monthly giving is easy and efficient. You choose the amount, and you choose the account, either credit or debit. It’s ecologically efficient. It saves postage. And it helps our campaigners know that funding will be available!

I enjoy talking about Greenpeace’s history. I’ve been a part of it. And so have you.

There is a lot to celebrate. But we know our most important fight is for our future. And right now, no battle is more urgent than the campaign against climate change. It is, quite literally, the fight of our lives.

Biden needs to do more. Congress needs to do more. And we, all of us, need to do more. Today, right now.

Can you take your support of Greenpeace to the next level by starting a monthly gift? I’d be very grateful if you would.

For the future,

John Noel
Senior Climate Campaigner, Greenpeace USA

P.S. Every gift makes a difference, just like every action makes a difference. We’re grateful for all you do. But what we need most is funding we can count on. Please become a monthly Greenpeace donor today and we’ll put your first gift (and every one after that) straight to work defending our planet.

Streamers float in the wind under the St. Johns Bridge In as activists climbed under the bridge in an attempt to prevent the Shell leased icebreaker, MSV Fennica from joining the rest of Shell's Arctic drilling fleet. According to the latest federal permit, the Fennica must be at Shell’s drill site before Shell can reapply for federal approval to drill deep enough for oil in the Chukchi Sea.

© Tim Aubry / Greenpeace