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Columbia Encyclopedia entry: Greenpeace
Greenpeace, international organization that promotes environmental awareness and addresses environmental abuse through direct, nonviolent confrontations with governments and companies. Founded in 1971 to oppose U.S. nuclear testing in Alaska, the organization has fought to protect endangered species, stop the dumping of hazardous waste, and strengthen national and international laws that regulate environmental affairs. A small organization largely dependent on voluntary funding, it has used wide media exposure to draw attention to its causes. Rainbow Warrior, a Greenpeace ship scheduled to protest French atmospheric nuclear weapons tests, was blown up in Auckland Harbour, New Zealand, on July 10, 1985, by French intelligence agents. The resulting scandal caused the resignation of France's minister of defense and the firing of the head of France's intelligence service.
Wikipedia search results for: Greenpeace
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Greenpeace is a non-governmental organization for the protection and conservation of the environment. Greenpeace uses direct action, lobbying and research to achieve its goals. Greenpeace has a worldwide presence with national and regional offices in 46 countries, which are affiliated to the Amsterdam-based Greenpeace International. The global organization receives its income through the individual contributions of almost 3 million financial supporters. Greenpeace evolved from the peace movement and anti-nuclear protests in Vancouver, British Columbia in the early 1970's. Waves of Compassion. The founding of Greenpeace. by Rex Weyler p.19. Retrieved on...more »
Columbia Encyclopedia search results: Greenpeace
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  • animal-rights movement

    Animal-rights movement, diverse individuals and groups concerned with protecting animals from perceived abuse or misuse. Supporters are specifically concerned with the use of animals for medic...

  • environmentalism

    Environmentalism, movement to protect the quality and continuity of life through conservation of natural resources, prevention of pollution, and control of land use. The philosophical foundati...

  • Chernobyl

    Chernobyl, Ukr. Chornobyl, abandoned city, N Ukraine, near the Belarus border, on the Pripyat River. Ten miles (16 km) to the north, in the town of Pripyat, is the Chernobyl nuclear power stat...

  • conservation of natural resources

    Conservation of natural resources, the wise use of the earth's resources by humanity. The term conservation came into use in the late 19th cent. and referred to the management, mainly for econ...

  • disarmament, nuclear

    Disarmament, nuclear, the reduction and limitation of the various nuclear weapons in the military forces of the world's nations. The atomic bombs dropped (1945) on Japan by the United States i...

  • endangered species

    Endangered species, any plant or animal species whose ability to survive and reproduce has been jeopardized by human activities. In 1999 the U.S. government, in accordance with the U.S. Endang...

  • whaling

    Whaling, the hunting of whales for the oil that can be rendered from their flesh, for meat, and for baleen (whalebone). Historically, whale oil was economically the most important. Whaling for...

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