Photo Credit | Politico
Back before the turn of the century, Greenpeace occupied the cultural space somewhere between a pirate crew and a rock band. The environmental activist group’s members zipped around in Zodiac boats confronting whaling ships, scaled smokestacks for banner drops, and sailed directly into nuclear test zones as celebrities, college students and documentary filmmakers cheered them on.
Back then, Greenpeace was the cool kids’ table of protest politics. Today, however, the once-swaggering “good guy” rebels of environmental activism find their reputation sullied by their own actions. A recent court ruling limiting Greenpeace’s attempt to get a European Union court to intervene on its behalf against the American justice system is one more bad look.
Last year, a jury in Morton County, North Dakota, unanimously concluded that Greenpeace International, Greenpeace USA and Greenpeace Fund supported efforts to sabotage construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline and damage pipeline owner Energy Transfer’s reputation through what the company argued were misleading and defamatory claims. The jury originally awarded Energy Transfer $667 million, which the judge later reduced to roughly $345 million.
On the eve of the North Dakota trial, Greenpeace International filed related legal action in the District Court of Amsterdam, an effort under a European Union law designed to protect people and entities that face lawsuits over protest speech. Energy Transfer characterized the suit as an attempt to sidestep the looming U.S. judgment and asked the North Dakota courts to act.
On May 7, the North Dakota Supreme Court ruled in favor of Energy Transfer in part. The decision blocked Greenpeace International from using the EU suit to undermine the issues already decided by the North Dakota jury, though it did not end all related litigation in the Netherlands. Greenpeace has said it will appeal the jury’s verdict.
In a statement following the ruling, Trey Cox, lead counsel for Energy Transfer, praised the court’s decision.
“Energy Transfer appreciates the North Dakota Supreme Court’s careful decision,” Cox said. “We have always believed that North Dakota’s courts, laws, and juries cannot be collaterally attacked in a foreign forum. Today’s ruling protects the authority of the North Dakota judicial system and the jury’s unanimous verdict from an improper end-run abroad. Energy Transfer looks forward to bringing this legal process to a close and holding Greenpeace accountable for the harm it caused.”
It could be argued that hubris powered Greenpeace’s journey from global do-gooder to jury-affirmed saboteur and defamer.
Greenpeace’s rise in the 1970s and 1980s coincided perfectly with the age of television spectacle. Founded in 1971 by anti-war and environmental activists protesting U.S. nuclear testing near Alaska’s Amchitka Island, Greenpeace pioneered the art of “bearing witness” — placing activists directly into confrontations designed for maximum public visibility. The images were irresistible television: inflatable Zodiac boats weaving around Soviet whalers, activists dangling from industrial structures, and crews aboard the famous Rainbow Warrior dodging foreign navies.
With the confidence and cash generated by its success on such black-and-white issues as whaling and no nukes, Greenpeace began to wade into more complex and nuanced debates, across and beyond environmentalism. A partial list of its current agenda includes climate policy, agriculture, plastics, Indigenous rights, corporate accountability, Arctic drilling, global supply chains, consumerism, genetically modified crops and even “defending democracy.”
Greenpeace’s self-righteousness and 20th-century tactics have not always served the group well in its multi-front war. For example, scientists and policymakers criticized Greenpeace’s unyielding opposition to genetically modified crops such as Golden Rice, which many experts believe could help end vitamin A deficiency in developing countries. In 2016, more than 100 Nobel laureates publicly rebuked the organization for its stand. Similarly, climate scientists and other environmental groups have said Greenpeace’s rigid opposition to nuclear power is out of date and unhelpful.
Even Greenpeace’s signature direct-action events have come under fire as stunts that draw momentary attention but don’t contribute to resolving complex issues. In a particularly embarrassing episode, Greenpeace drew harsh global criticism after activists entered Peru’s ancient Nazca Lines during a climate protest and left footprints in the protected UNESCO site.
Greenpeace’s involvement with the Dakota Access Pipeline took things to a new level. Demonstrators initially drew national sympathy amid concerns about environmental risks and tribal sovereignty. But as the protests escalated, reports of vandalism, property destruction and aggressive blockades began to overshadow the movement’s earlier moral clarity.
For Greenpeace, the jury verdict and North Dakota Supreme Court ruling represent more than a financial and legal headache. They are the culmination of a decades-long transformation from outsider provocateurs into an institutional entity increasingly vulnerable to the same legal, political and reputational consequences that Greenpeace once excelled at inflicting on its opponents.
Zodiac boats, we hardly knew ye.
Randall Bloomquist, the head of Bloomquist Media, has been a journalist, PR guy, business owner and parent.
Reprinted with Permission from DC Journal – By Randall Bloomquist
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AMAC or AMAC Action.
Greenpeace or socialism? Is there any real difference between the two? They are still involved in their own interests that is to bring the USA to its knees for the world to see. Anything involving with the UN and the European laws. doesn’t apply to the USA. This is just another step toward a “One World Order” that the elite of the world will have dominion over the planet.
It’s good to be environmentaly responsible for the care of our only Home Planet. But like many venues, causes, and efforts, this has been perverted into a cause to advance Global Governance and Evil money mongering Marxist to advance their “raise” to power. Where were Thunberg when Iraq torched hundred of oil wells?, where is Green Peace to protest Irans pour crude oil directly into the Arabian Sea? Climate Change is just weather, Global warming is just cycles the Planet endures supprted by Ice Core test showing the same cycles over thousands of years. EV mandate? No, old batteries, like Windmills and Solar Panels are not recyclable. All a farce.
Stop all the funding. and watch it to collapse
It, would be worth a DOGE type investigation to see if they are receiving fraudulent federal funds to support their socialist agenda
Another dogooder organization being corrupted by the communist progressives in this country. They acted like the communists in this country do. The court ruling they didn’t like so they found a court in the Netherlands to take their case. Their cause is not just. Never was. Like Greta they believed their own hype and with Soros’s money they thought they were it. Perfect and could do anything and everything nobody would dare take them to court nor stop them. Like those obstructing ICE, the Jews, President Trump, America and the white race. Gun control. All to destroy a country they don’t like nor love. Don’t let them. Vote them out. Your great great grandchildren will thank you.
Couldn’t happen to a more deserving bunch of socialist cry babies
Greenpeace is and was just a place for bored little rich kids that had nothing to do at home. They were convinced they were fighting the good fight and they were on the moral high ground. Well guess what? The world is sick and tired of your shenanigans and it is time to grow a set and be responsible for your misguided actions.
Activists are just socialist that couldn’t get a job. Same thing as community organizers. Totally worthless All they do is cause trouble
Not a far reach for them to decide to eliminate people they don’t agree with. They deserve to be bankrupt!
Very well said from a quasi environmental group to leftest socialist terror group ! Fallow the money who’s behind this socialist group now?
The radically left-wing Socialist European nations are less than a breath away from being full-blown Communists. Greenpeace w-is just one of their delusional trumpeters.
Unfortunately, the whole ecology movement has been corrupted by politics and fraud.
Greenpeace, watermelon green – thin green surface, Marxist red from just below that surface to its rotten communist core. i remember having my helmet on guard duty at the barracks where I was stationed pelted with freshly torn up cobblestones from the street by Greenpeace Easter marchers in West Germany in protest of Pershing II “nukes” – there were no missiles, or nuclear weapons on our post, that somehow did not matter to these Greenpeace marchers, they were as “non-violent and peaceful” as the BLM and ANTIFA goons in their destruction of our inner cities to the tune of billions of $$$$ during their “summer of love”. If this is left wing “love” it’s a wonder there are any of them with kids, you would figure they’d have killed themselves by now “making love.” It also illuminates and puts a whole new spin on their favorite slogan of “make love, not war” since the two seem to be synonymous in their idea.
Greenpeace should be declared a terrorist organization!
Greenpeace wasand is a destructive enemy to the conservation of our planet and their main purpose was the power they first received from all the concerned people in trying not to harm our home/planet. Greenpeace became power drunk in their initial success and with each little step, they abandoned their initial mission and instead of helping constructively they became the enemy of our nation and our freedom. They were and are still drinking out of the power at all costs.
In my opinion our own Democrat party is also drinking out of that same vat and has also lost their initial function to save our nation and our freedom. They are now drunk on the power and both entities need to step back and assess how to get back to doing good!
This group is very old news and serves no useful purpose any longer.
Greenpeace should have been taken out a long time ago. The arrogant shites thought they knew everything, poor dumb basstards.
Greenpeace are now and have always been a bunch of Eco-Terrorists! Good to finally see them brought to task!
Yes, I believe at one point years ago, they were blowing up ships in order to “save the planet.” Perfect logic…
While Greenpeace may have had some merit 50 years ago, they have outlived their usefulness, & like too many other NGO’s, they have denigrated to little more than at best environmental nuisances, and at worst environmental terrorists. Of course the entire army of environmental activists & many of their leaders no longer just research & share studies. They have deteriorated into liars who will alter studies to favor their political opinions, as well as hypocrites. & worse. It has long irritated me that the same “celebrities” & politicians who scream about CO2 issues, etc., have no qualms about flying their private jets or sailing in their massive yachts to annual conventions on how everyone else should sacrifice to reduce & prevent pollution, but them. And of course their beliefs are superior to everyone else’s, no matter how economically or functionally devastating that may be.
Organizations such as Greenpeace were once viable to get corporations to clean up their acts, literally. Those organizations won the battle they set out to win, and then they became as evil as their original intentions were good. Today, these organizations only exist to advance Socialism by scamming citizens into believing climate scare mongering stories.
Thugs come in all shapes and forms-these guys and gals are a particularly clever variety that has lost its immunity to truth.
Yeah & none drove EVs either since EV debut years
If Greenpeace and these radical environmental groups are so concerned about the environment, why are they not protesting and screaming about all the weather geo engineering that is happening. Chemtrails are spraying chemicals in the atmosphere daily. The drought all the western states are in is not a natural weather event. An undercover journalist exposed a company at the WEF forum in January. They openly admitted to being a company that was spraying the chemtrails. Why is this not exposed and shut down. Greenpeace do some good and get on this.
Every “noble cause” eventually gets exposed as a scam.
Good for N. Dakota Supreme Court. Just imagine, the European Union having anything to offer our nation. GreenPeace is a farce, IMO
Like so many other “activist” outfits, Greenpeace makes a lot of noise, rattles a lot of chains, and doles out self promotion for profit….but never offers any hint of resolution to a problem. They are like crying spoiled children who have no clue as to remedies for any of their pet peeves. So, until they bring concrete and useful items to the table to help clean, repair, aid or counsel any aspect of environmental issues…….they are to be condemned, shamed, ignored, chastised, sued, de-funded and made to suffer for their useless voice and actions. If they cave and die, good riddance.
Greenpeace member’s intellect is about on par with AOC’s.
Green peace? Think watermelon. Or enviro-terrorists.
Commies pushing “environmental” concerns in order to stymie legitimate progress in free nations.
Blocking oil pipelines doesn’t even make environmental sense.
Greenpeace has no place in Present Day American Society nor throughout the World! They represent nothing in the way of value for the betterment of Humanity! Not with their Atheistic Agenda can they hope for success! Today they’re Parasitical looking for their next meal to suck the Life Blood out of something of value to the Human Race. Give them residence on Snake Island, each and everyone of them!
That Greenpeace was one of the biggest forces in the move to plastic bags tells you all you need to know about it. Now plastics are polluting the water, the land, and even our bodies. It never completely breaks down and it is estimated that we ingest 5 grams of plastic every week. It is even in our blood and lodged in our brain and other organs. Greenpeace took millions from the plastics industry.
Why would the judge DECREASE the settlement??? After the jury gave them the amount??? Thought the idea of the settlement was to PUNISH!!!!!!
GREEN PEACE needs to disappear!
Way 2go Dakota Access Pipeline!!! Good4u N Dakota Supreme Court! Greenpeace has become an Oxy-Moronic “progressive” hater of PROGRESS… its the liberal demwit way.
Green Peace and their ilk lost any goodwill from me with the pipeline protests. When the pigs left after their hissy fit, they left behind tons of garbage and human waste. They also abandoned several dogs left to fend for themselves. Scumbags!
When Greenpeace was shiny and new, they were fighting for the whales, baby seals and against nuclear contamination. I was a shiny new highschool graduate, and I thought, “Oh yeah! Right on, man!” But a mere 10-15 years later, Greenpeace became more political. I was more, “Say, what?” than I was, “Right on!”
All I am going to say now is that Greenpeace is out dated. And I would like to see more current studies that can be duplicated, so we can see clearly how to better serve our planet.
I think in the beginning everyone loved them. Nowadays I think that the military bought confiscated all their boats for special forces ????♂️????♂️????♂️ I loved the beginning of ARMAGEDDON movie where Bruce Willis is hitting golfballs and their boat