Living in the Faroe Islands means that you have experienced Greenpeace in action. It also means that your opinion regarding Greenpeace may not be as positive as it would have been without the influence of your fellow countrymen.
Credit where credit is due: Greenpeace has done magnificent work in preserving our environment, even though their methods are sometimes questionable, rude, and immoral. While we detest Greenpeace’s campaigns against the Faroe Islands, where pilot whale hunting has been the subject, we acknowledge that their methods of argumentation are flawed. Pictures and video recordings were manipulated, and information that we can only laugh at was fed to the public. However, the questionable procedures used in the campaigns against the Faroe Islands do not represent Greenpeace’s general perspective or actions.
But the keyword for Greenpeace, and what is common for almost every venture that Greenpeace takes, is that they are active. Greenpeace does not believe in bureaucracy, and that is something that we should respect. Taking action for Greenpeace sometimes means that you have to break the law or at least bend it a little. In the USA, where they protested against factories that deliberately dumped toxic waste into nearby lakes, Greenpeace sealed the pipes from which the toxic waste was coming and furthermore, the activists refused to leave.
An up-to-date example could be Mururoa, where the French government held a series of underground nuclear tests and banned all nearby sailing activities. Greenpeace sailed right to Mururoa and stayed there until they were forced to leave by a commando squad. Even though direct action seems to be their game, Greenpeace also has its own research center, from where ozone-friendly refrigerators were designed. But direct action” is still what Greenpeace stands for. One could say that in a world where bureaucracy blooms and people do not seem to care, Greenpeace is the rebel.
Pat Hanson
875 Green Street
Seattle, WA 98116
USA
Greenpeace Denmark
Linnsgade 25
1361 København K
1 October 1995
Dear Sirs,
Being an environmentalist like myself and having followed Greenpeace’s ventures with interest and expectations, I have gained respect and admiration for your organization and the work it has been doing for the environment.
Therefore, I am writing to inform you that I am starting my own shop in the center of Copenhagen. The name of my shop is GREEN MACHINE, and it will initially sell environmental literature and articles. Some of the ecological articles that I plan to sell include clothes, caps, bags, and toiletries. I believe that my degree in business administration will be helpful in making the shop successful, and my financial status is good, so I intend to spare no expense in its creation. It would be an honor and a privilege for me to sell Greenpeace articles in my shop, and I hereby request your permission to do so. I believe that a business deal between us would be beneficial for both parties, as your goal is to reach as many customers as possible with your merchandise.
I look forward to hearing from you and eventually doing business with you in the future. Yours faithfully, Pat Hanson III, Greenpeace Denmark, Linnsgade 25, 1361 København K, Pat Hanson, 875 Green Street, Seattle, WA 98116, USA.
Thank you for your letter to Greenpeace in Denmark and your interest in our organization. We have a rather large administration here in the country, both in Copenhagen and in Aarhus, and besides that, we have shops in both towns. Our goods are sold in these shops and through mail order via our members’ magazine. As you can see, we have a comprehensive sale of Greenpeace merchandise, and as a multinational association, we have certain obligations and restrictions. Therefore, we are sorry to inform you that you may not sell Greenpeace merchandise in the shop that you are planning to open in Copenhagen.
On the other side, we are naturally always interested in encouraging the sale of ecological articles, even though this gives our own shops increased competition. Therefore, we would like to help you get started with your shop by sharing our experience with you. Greenpeace is known for aggressive advertising campaigns, and we could perhaps help you in this area. We therefore ask you to contact Henrik Green, who is the leader of our marketing department. We hope that you may succeed in establishing a shop in Copenhagen. Yours faithfully, Greenpeace Denmark.
