Tag Archives: Russia

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Nicky Davies, Greenpeace


Deja Vu

Shell has just announced that it will attempt to drill for oil in the Alaskan Arctic again next year.
Take action today!
Tell President Obama to pull Shell’s permits and save the Arctic by taking action today.
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Shell is heading to the pristine Alaskan Arctic next year to drill for oil. 
There’s a reason this sounds familiar. The company tried the same thing back in 2012 until a series of mishaps, general incompetence and the activism of millions of people from around the world put an end to its plans.
Shell will stop at nothing to get at the oil it believes is under the Arctic. As a senior Shell official reminded the world last week, drilling for oil in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea is “the single largest exploration prospect in the Shell Group.” The stakes couldn’t be higher for Shell or the environment.
Stopping Shell is simple: President Obama has the power to pull Shell’s drilling permits any time he wants. But it’s going to take overwhelming public support for the President to do the right thing and stand up to Big Oil.
Help us send 75,000 messages before Thanksgiving by taking action right now demanding that President Obama pull Shell’s permits and keep oil companies out of the Arctic for good.
The destruction of one of the last pristine places on Earth and the prospect of runaway climate change mean little to companies like Shell and its Arctic drilling Russian counterpart Gazprom. It’s all about the financial bottom-line.
These companies will go to great lengths to silence opposition. Nowhere is this clearer than in Russia where 28 Greenpeace activists and two freelance journalists are currently facing lengthy prison sentences for peacefully protesting Arctic drilling.
We can’t back down. No matter how far those in power go to silence the people who speak out against Arctic oil drilling and environmental destruction. You can stand with these activists in Russia by taking action today demanding that President Obama pull Shell’s permits to drill in the Arctic.
I believe the campaign to save the Arctic will be one of the defining environmental fights of this generation.
It’s an opportunity to say ‘enough.’ Enough to environmental destruction in the name of profit. Enough to our reliance on fossil fuels that is driving runaway climate change. Enough to the corporate control of our democracy.
Together we can do something big and it starts with keeping Shell out of the Alaskan Arctic in 2014.
For the Arctic and its people,
Nicky Davies Greenpeace USA Campaigns Director
PS. Shell just announced plans to drill in the Arctic next summer. If we want to stop runaway climate change and protect one of the last unspoiled places on Earth, that can’t happen. Tell President Obama to pull Shell’s drilling permits and keep oil companies out of the Arctic for good.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Take Action: Lumber Liquidator​s threatens last Siberian Tigers


Rainforest Action Network
A shocking new report shows direct ties between hardwood flooring giant Lumber Liquidators, organized crime, and the illegal logging of the habitat of the last 450 Siberian Tigers. This shameless disregard for the last few remaining members of the species in pursuit of cheap flooring is not only disgusting, it’s illegal under American law and has prompted a federal investigation.
Take Action: Tell Lumber Liquidators to immediately eliminate illegal hardwoods from its products.
Posing undercover as large scale lumber buyers, RAN’s awesome and much admired allies at the Environmental Investigation Agency infiltrated the worst of the worst of a shadowy network of illegal logging operations in Russia’s Far East and tracked their shipments back to their biggest customer, the largest retailer of flooring in the United States, Lumber Liquidators.
The remote area where this rapid deforestation is occurring is the last frontier of old growth hardwoods in the region and the last habitat in Russia for the highly endangered Siberian Tiger. Thanks to the US Lacey Act, amended in 2008 to ban the trade of illegal wood and forest products, this case is now under active investigation by the US Department of Justice.
For the amazing backstory of how this came to be, watch EIA’s video here and then read their recently released report Liquidating the Forests: Hardwood Flooring, Organized Crime and the World’s Last Siberian Tigers.
In order to retain even a shred of credibility, Lumber Liquidators needs to immediately and irrevocably take action to improve due diligence and bring itself into compliance with the Lacey Act. It must eliminate forest illegality, destruction and human rights violations from its supply chain. Lumber Liquidators must cut supply chain ties with Xiangjia, the supplier which is the source of this illegal hardwood, and adopt and implement a comprehensive procurement policy that ensures the company will never again be involved in destroying old growth and endangered forests, abuse of human rights and run away climate change.
The time for action is now—add your name here to send your message directly to Lumber Liquidators.

Campaigner Name

For the forests,
Christy Tennery             Rainforest Free Paper campaigner
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Trapped in a Russian jail


 

Ana Paula and 29 of her Greenpeace crewmates are trapped in a Russian jail for trying to save the Arctic from oil drilling. But our community could set them free if we help Greenpeace build a massive global outcry targeting Russia’s biggest global partners. Let’s reach 1 million to free the Arctic 30 — sign now by clicking below:

SIGN THE PETITION

Ana Paula is a 31-year old from Brazil who wanted to peacefully protest Russia’s plans to drill the Arctic. Now she, along with her 29 crewmates from the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise, is locked in a Russian jail with no release in sight. But we can throw her and the rest of her crew a lifeline.

The Greenpeace staff, some in solitary confinement, are now facing fifteen years in prison on trumped up charges of piracy. Their crime? Hanging a banner on a Russian oil rig to protest dangerous deepwater drilling in one of the earth’s most beautiful and fragile places. Many western governments have already spoken out, but now Ana Paula and Greenpeace are asking the Avaaz community to help build a truly global outcry. 

Together we can call on some of Russia’s strongest trade and political partners — Brazil, India, South Africa and the EU — to call for the release of the Arctic 30. Let’s reach 1 million to free Ana Paula and her friends. Once we hit that mark, Avaaz will project their faces in key public places to keep this story at the top of the news:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/free_the_arctic_30_loc/?biEWLbb&v=30328

This is what Ana Paula’s sister said about her: “In many ways, my sister is a typical Brazilian — talkative, friendly, and full of life. But she’s also simply extraordinary, passionate about nature since she was little, and never hesitating to stand up for it even at great personal risk.”

Now Ana Paula and her crewmates could lose 15 years of their lives, all for trying to hang a banner on a Gazprom oil rig, the first of its kind in the Arctic. This is an aggressive backlash against defenders of our environment — stopping oil drilling in the Arctic is about protecting the last great wilderness on earth, where oil spills are almost impossible to clean up.

Greenpeace has hired great lawyers who point out that the 30 were arrested in international waters, making Russia the one violating the international Law of the Sea. But being on the right side of the law may not be enough to regain their freedom, and their dreadful fate may be sealed soon unless the international community lets Russia know that this is a scandal that’s not going to go away.

Avaaz has a particularly powerful voice in many of these countries with huge memberships — 5 million in Brazil alone! If we all weigh in now and build a one million strong petition, Avaazers in Brazil, South Africa, India, and the EU can ramp up the pressure. Sign now to help build 1 million people to help free the Arctic 30:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/free_the_arctic_30_loc/?biEWLbb&v=30328

These Arctic 30 were brave enough to confront the oil industry in one of the last untouched places on earth. They are being silenced and intimidated by the oil industry for their bravery. Our community has stood strong for campaigners across the world — now let’s free these 30.

With hope and determination,

Jamie, Alex, Emma, Lisa, Ricken, Marie, Julien, Diego and the rest of the Avaaz team

MORE INFORMATION

Russia accuses Greenpeace crew of ‘piracy’ in Arctic (BBC)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24222392

Dutch sue Russia to recover ‘pirate’ Greenpeace crew (France24)
http://www.france24.com/en/20131004-netherlands-russia-greenpeace-oil-arctic-piracy-justice

What Russia’s Treatment of Greenpeace Activists Reveals About its Arctic Policy (The Atlantic)
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/10/what-russia-s-treatment-of-greenpeace-activists-reveals-about-its-arctic-policy/280352/

Legal analysis by International law professor Prof. Dr. Stefan Kirchner
http://fr.scribd.com/doc/173374193/Comment-on-the-institution-of-arbitration-proceedings-between-the-Kingdom-of-the-Netherlands-and-the-Russian-Federation-concerning-the-case-of-the-shi

Black Ice: Russia’s ongoing oil spill crisis (Report, Greenpeace)
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/climate-change/arctic-impacts/The-dangers-of-Ar…

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Shell heads to Russia


greenpeace
Shell was forced to quit in the US Alaskan Arctic this year after a series of dangerous and humiliating failures. But now Shell has a Plan B to enter the Arctic through Russia, and it’s urgent that we spread the word before it’s too late. We need you to share this video to expose Shell’s ruthless new plan, and ask your friends to sign the petition to save the Arctic from oil destruction:
StopShell
Increasingly desperate to plunder the Arctic in any way possible, Shell has made a deal with the devil: partnering with monstrous Russian oil and gas giant Gazprom to access the Arctic through Russia, where laws are lax and corruption is rife.

Shell’s new bedfellow Gazprom is infamous for a catastrophic accident in 2011 when its oil rig sank in stormy weather – and 53 people died. This new partnership is a guaranteed oil spill in the making, and the environmental catastrophe zone of northern Russia is a preview of the Arctic’s future if we don’t act.
We know that spreading this video will harm Shell’s carefully-tended reputation. The last thing the company wants is to appear as a risky investment to its shareholders and partners, so broadcasting this treacherous new deal to the world could help keep Shell out of the Russian Arctic.
Help us trash Shell’s brand before they trash the Arctic. Click here to see the video, share it with your friends and invite them to our movement. You can also just forward this email, or copy and paste the text below.
Thanks so much.
Ian Duff
Arctic Campaign
Greenpeace

—————–Copy and paste this text into an email for your friends—————-
Friend,
Have you seen this petition to save the Arctic? www.savethearctic.org. I’ve signed and you should too.
The Arctic is under threat like never before. As polar sea ice melts faster than ever, huge oil companies like Shell are rushing to profit from Arctic oil at any cost. An oil spill would have deadly consequences for this fragile environment, destroying the home of Indigenous communities and amazing species like polar bears.
Help us declare a global sanctuary in the uninhabited area around the North Pole, and a ban on offshore drilling and industrial fishing in the whole region. Join our 3 million-strong movement now at www.savethearctic.org.
Thanks!

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

How thirty 11 year-olds changed the world

1 Comment

                                Dear friends,


Thirty 11 year-olds in Hamburg just saved their classmate — all it took was a petition and a few thousand signatures. It all started with a simple step that took 2 minutes. Click below to start the next great campaign to change someone’s life or the world:

A 5th grade class in Hamburg just saved their classmate Gleb from deportation — all it took was a petition and a few thousand signatures.
Gleb fled to Germany to get treatment for Leukaemia. He got an operation that saved his life, started to attend school and quickly became top of his class, but then the government tried to send him back to Russia. His classmates started a petition on the community petition site to their local government officials to stop the deportation.
When the petition took off, their council member started paying attention. And in weeks, Gleb was saved, able to continue the treatment he so desperately needed. His friends saved his future, and it all started with a simple step — click below to start a campaign on an issue you care about or send this email to a friend. You never know who might start the next great campaign to change someone’s life or change the world!
http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/start_a_petition/?cl=2929208333&v=25689
With just a few focused minutes, Gleb’s classmates kick-started an amazing campaign that led to an impressive victory. Imagine if all of us committed a little time to start a campaign – there’s no limit to what we can achieve!
Starting a campaign only takes a few minutes, but the impact of success can last for years. Plus, if the petition gets enough support on its own, the staff at Avaaz could pick up the campaign, add strategic advice, media help, and even send it to a wider list of members. We’ve got tonnes of tips and advice to help you along the way — all it takes is to get started, share your passion and you can be on your way to winning on any issue – local, national or global.
Send this email to the people you know who have great ideas about how to make the world a better place or click on the link to be a part of it:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/start_a_petition/?cl=2929208333&v=25689
Many Avaaz campaigns have been started by Avaaz members, from bringing hundreds of workers in Bahrain safely home to India, to allowing partners stay in touch with imprisoned love ones in New Mexico. All these took just a few minutes to get started. Let’s become world-changers together and multiply our impact by the thousands.
With hope and excitement for all we can achieve together,
Emma, Oli, Dalia, Patri, Laura, Ricken, Luis, Chris and all of the Avaaz team