Rainbow Warrior and the launch of direct green action

Gerald · 08-17-11, 05:02 AM

Greenpeace's Rainbow Warrior II is retiring, but Rainbow Warrior III will soon take its place. How did the protest ship anchor itself in the public imagination - and can it continue to do so in future?

It has foiled and frustrated the efforts of governments, it has brought big business to its knees. For more than 30 years, the most enduring image of environmental activism has been a little ship on a roiling sea, the distinctive white dove on its hull dipping in and out of the waves.

"It's a small boat, a little untidy," said the Dalai Lama, when he visited the Rainbow Warrior in 1992.

"But it is a very powerful symbol and the spirit on board made my spirit stronger too."

In 1977, when the UK Ministry of Agriculture retired an old fisheries research boat, it sold it off to Greenpeace. Rusty old Sir William Hardy acquired a coat of colourful paint and a new identity, and began life as a protest ship. Soon, it became a campaigning icon.

"In the beginning, it was the romance of the story," says Kevin DeLuca, author of Image Politics: The New Rhetoric of Environmental Activism, "a few individuals battling the evil empire of the Soviet Union, a primary propagator of whaling."

The ship delivered activists to far-flung regions where they chained themselves to harpoons, and positioned rubber rafts between whalers and whales.

They blocked the waste discharge pipes of factories and flung green paint on the coats of baby harp seals, rendering them commercially worthless.

Often, there was no immediate result - factory smoke swirled freely, seal pups continued to be killed - but the world began watching, simultaneously outraged and enthralled.

Exasperated

According to Rex Weyler, a co-founder of Greenpeace International, the organisation struck a chord because it adopted a form of civil disobedience - it did for the environment what the civil rights movement did for the dispossessed.

"Although we were by no means the first to advocate these ideas, we extended the concept of compassion to more than just people," he says.

In the organisation's parlance, each expedition of the Rainbow Warrior launched a "media mind bomb", eliciting a groundswell of public protest.

"The activists at Greenpeace were sophisticated media artists," says DeLuca. "A number of them were journalists - such as Robert Hunter, the first president of Greenpeace - and so knew exactly how to use images to exploit the infinite possibilities of television."

But in a perverse twist, what came to be the organisation's most famous mind bomb was one it had not planned.

In 1985, the Rainbow Warrior led a fleet of ships to protest against French nuclear testing in the South Pacific. Exasperated French intelligence services bombed the vessel, killing one activist and triggering widespread public outrage.

With characteristic determination - and with the slogan "You Can't Sink a Rainbow" - Greenpeace launched a second ship.

After 22 years of service, this second vessel is now retiring from service.

Unlike its predecessor, which was sunk as an artificial reef, Warrior II will serve as a floating hospital in Bangladesh, a country with a severe shortage of hospital beds.

In its place is the custom-built Rainbow Warrior III - and unlike Greenpeace's gas-guzzling vessels of yore, it will be among the most environmentally advanced ships of its size.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14530273

Note: 17 August 2011 Last updated at 00:11 GMT

papa_smurf · 08-17-11, 07:05 AM

Secure communications room eh? What are they hiding

Gerald · 08-17-11, 08:44 AM

Design their actions .... maybe

August · 08-17-11, 09:13 AM

Fire torpedoes. Full spread.

Stealhead · 08-17-11, 10:36 AM

Seeing as they go after whaling operations I can fully understand why they would want to have secure comms as whaling ships could easily listen in on them to figure out where they are going/planning so that they can counter I mean that vessel is no threat to any naval ship.

Jimbuna · 08-17-11, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by papa_smurf

Secure communications room eh? What are they hiding

Probably a place of safety when they're boarded by officialdom

Stealhead · 08-17-11, 10:46 AM

You'd think if they really wanted to interdict whaling that they would choose a less obvious vessel you go German raider style.

jumpy · 08-17-11, 03:25 PM

Sail power, eh?
At least when they're becalmed all those vegans and vegetarians on board will have a use for their ruminant gas and hot air....

TLAM Strike · 08-17-11, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stealhead

You'd think if they really wanted to interdict whaling that they would choose a less obvious vessel you go German raider style.

08-17-11, 05:02 AM	#1
Gerald SUBSIM Newsman Join Date: May 2008 Location: Close to sea Posts: 24,254 Downloads: 553 Uploads: 0	Rainbow Warrior and the launch of direct green action Greenpeace's Rainbow Warrior II is retiring, but Rainbow Warrior III will soon take its place. How did the protest ship anchor itself in the public imagination - and can it continue to do so in future? It has foiled and frustrated the efforts of governments, it has brought big business to its knees. For more than 30 years, the most enduring image of environmental activism has been a little ship on a roiling sea, the distinctive white dove on its hull dipping in and out of the waves. "It's a small boat, a little untidy," said the Dalai Lama, when he visited the Rainbow Warrior in 1992. "But it is a very powerful symbol and the spirit on board made my spirit stronger too." In 1977, when the UK Ministry of Agriculture retired an old fisheries research boat, it sold it off to Greenpeace. Rusty old Sir William Hardy acquired a coat of colourful paint and a new identity, and began life as a protest ship. Soon, it became a campaigning icon. "In the beginning, it was the romance of the story," says Kevin DeLuca, author of Image Politics: The New Rhetoric of Environmental Activism, "a few individuals battling the evil empire of the Soviet Union, a primary propagator of whaling." The ship delivered activists to far-flung regions where they chained themselves to harpoons, and positioned rubber rafts between whalers and whales. They blocked the waste discharge pipes of factories and flung green paint on the coats of baby harp seals, rendering them commercially worthless. Often, there was no immediate result - factory smoke swirled freely, seal pups continued to be killed - but the world began watching, simultaneously outraged and enthralled. Exasperated According to Rex Weyler, a co-founder of Greenpeace International, the organisation struck a chord because it adopted a form of civil disobedience - it did for the environment what the civil rights movement did for the dispossessed. "Although we were by no means the first to advocate these ideas, we extended the concept of compassion to more than just people," he says. In the organisation's parlance, each expedition of the Rainbow Warrior launched a "media mind bomb", eliciting a groundswell of public protest. "The activists at Greenpeace were sophisticated media artists," says DeLuca. "A number of them were journalists - such as Robert Hunter, the first president of Greenpeace - and so knew exactly how to use images to exploit the infinite possibilities of television." But in a perverse twist, what came to be the organisation's most famous mind bomb was one it had not planned. In 1985, the Rainbow Warrior led a fleet of ships to protest against French nuclear testing in the South Pacific. Exasperated French intelligence services bombed the vessel, killing one activist and triggering widespread public outrage. With characteristic determination - and with the slogan "You Can't Sink a Rainbow" - Greenpeace launched a second ship. After 22 years of service, this second vessel is now retiring from service. Unlike its predecessor, which was sunk as an artificial reef, Warrior II will serve as a floating hospital in Bangladesh, a country with a severe shortage of hospital beds. In its place is the custom-built Rainbow Warrior III - and unlike Greenpeace's gas-guzzling vessels of yore, it will be among the most environmentally advanced ships of its size. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14530273 Note: 17 August 2011 Last updated at 00:11 GMT __________________ Nothing in life is to be feard,it is only to be understood. Marie Curie

08-17-11, 07:05 AM	#2
papa_smurf Ocean Warrior Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: High Peak, Derbyshire Posts: 2,851 Downloads: 33 Uploads: 0	Secure communications room eh? What are they hiding __________________

08-17-11, 08:44 AM	#3
Gerald SUBSIM Newsman Join Date: May 2008 Location: Close to sea Posts: 24,254 Downloads: 553 Uploads: 0	Design their actions .... maybe __________________ Nothing in life is to be feard,it is only to be understood. Marie Curie

08-17-11, 09:13 AM	#4
August Wayfaring Stranger Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 23,197 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Fire torpedoes. Full spread. __________________ Flanked by life and the funeral pyre. Putting on a show for you to see.

08-17-11, 03:25 PM	#8
jumpy Admiral Join Date: May 2003 Location: Midlands, UK Posts: 2,139 Downloads: 22 Uploads: 0	Sail power, eh? At least when they're becalmed all those vegans and vegetarians on board will have a use for their ruminant gas and hot air.... __________________ when you’ve been so long in the desert, any water, no matter how brackish, looks like life

08-17-11, 10:36 AM	#5
Stealhead Navy Seal Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Kentucky Posts: 5,421 Downloads: 85 Uploads: 0	Seeing as they go after whaling operations I can fully understand why they would want to have secure comms as whaling ships could easily listen in on them to figure out where they are going/planning so that they can counter I mean that vessel is no threat to any naval ship.

08-17-11, 10:46 AM	#7
Stealhead Navy Seal Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Kentucky Posts: 5,421 Downloads: 85 Uploads: 0	You'd think if they really wanted to interdict whaling that they would choose a less obvious vessel you go German raider style.

08-17-11, 11:47 PM	#10
Stealhead Navy Seal Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Kentucky Posts: 5,421 Downloads: 85 Uploads: 0	I saw a video once of a US Aircraft carrier and there where some Greenpeace was blocking its path so they simply had the crew grab a few fire hoses and they spray a few hundred gallons of sea water on them...I wonder can a Vegan consume sea water. Those anti Nuclear types have tried to mess around with USAF Minute Man silos a few times they are very lucky to walk away around something like that deadly force from Security Forces is just around the corner. I mean you can say what you want but dont block actual military sites just for your own safety' Yeah that Whale Wars guy is extreme in deed hell he got kicked from Greenpeace. And then you have PETA the leader of which is suspected of ties to extremist militant environmental groups that a very high on the list of serious threats to the US.