Artigenda
Greenpeace Day
When: annually, September 15.
Thanks to the mayor of the Canadian city of Vancouver, we know Greenpeace Day (English: Greenpeace Day). A day to not only reflect on the international champions of our living world. It is also a good time to reflect on improving our living environment in general.
Since 2011
Finding an answer to why there is such a thing as Greenpeace Day is not so easy. It is easier to give an overview of the organisation’s history. That history goes back to the 1970s. Greenpeace Day just doesn’t go that far back in time. Moreover, the idea did not even come from the organisation itself. We can thank Gregor Robertson for this. He conceived the day in 2011.
Was it logical for Robertson to make a connection with 15 September in his position as mayor of the Canadian city of Vancouver? Not really when you consider that Vancouver is quite a nice distance away from Alaska. That’s where it started on that day. Still, Canada played an important role. September 15 also played an important role. When you consider that the events the Vancouver mayor was referring to took place 40 years earlier, it all made much more sense. Robertson was mayor of the Canadian city in 2011.
September 15, 1971
It was Dorothy and Irving Stowe from Vancouver, Canada, who were instrumental in a protest against US nuclear testing near Amchitka Island off the coast of Alaska on September 15, 1971. Their boat was intercepted by the US Coast Guard. Because of the attention this generated, people thought about a follow-up. In addition, the US government decided to abandon the other nuclear tests later that year.
Indeed, there was a sequel. A protest in the Pacific aimed at the French government conducting nuclear tests near French Polynesia. Within a year of the protests, the French government decided to stop the tests. The focus was shifted to other areas. Think whale and seal hunting. Discharging waste, especially nuclear waste, also became high on the agenda. These actions did not escape others. Greenpeace was now established and was a serious partner in the fight for a better living environment. Hence, the organisation was granted consultative status by the United Nations in 1988.
Still, the organisation fights for a better living environment and human rights. Because it does not stop at just improving our living environment. Associated human rights are also an important part. Climate change and biodiversity are therefore points to which the organisation draws attention, in many ways.
Besides human rights, a world without conflicts and wars is a spearhead of the organisation. Peace in the world ensures a world without nuclear weapons, i.e. a reduced threat of nuclear disaster. That disaster can be caused not only by nuclear power plants but also by the deployment or testing of nuclear weapons.
About this day
Greenpeace Day is a tribute to the organisation. In addition, it is also a good time to reflect on the issues Greenpeace stands for.
Bronnen
Image at the top of this page: Unsplash/Evangelos Mpikakis
