Sunday 18 October 2015

Dr. Patrick Moore, Co-Founder of Greenpeace

There has been much debate about the manner in which some at Greenpeace International have tried to "vanish" ecologist Dr. Patrick Moore as a co-founder of the organisation. The discussion has flared up again in comments following Greg Laden's June 2014 article "Who Founded Greenpeace? Not Patrick Moore" (http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2014/06/27/who-founded-greenpeace-not-patrick-moore/#comment-625871).

It seems that facts are irrelevant as far as Greg Laden and some of the debaters there are concerned.

Despite having been given the text of an existing Greenpeace web-site which shows clearly that Greenpeace acknowledges that the crew of the Phyllis Cormack (nicknamed the Greenpeace) were the founders of Greenpeace, one Marco insisted that " .. Greenpeace does *not* acknowledge that the crew of the Phyllis Cormack were the founders of Greenpeace. No matter how much he makes this claim, Patrick Moore was undoubtedly not one of the founding members .. ".

Marco, along with Greg Laden and anyone else who refuses to acknowledge that Dr. Patrick Moore was a co-founder of the Greenpeace organisation, needs to take a careful look at the Greenpeace Philippines October 2006 article "The Founders of Greenpeace" (http://www.greenpeace.org/seasia/ph/About-us/History/the-founders/). The photograph on that web-page shows 11 of the crew of the Phyllis Cormack, including Patrick Moore – he’s the guy under the “P” in this picture (http://www.greenpeace.org/seasia/ph/Global/seasia/External/image/2005/8/crew-of-the-phyllis-cormack-f.jpg

A copy of that web-page has been saved just in case it is "vanished" by Greenoeace.


The fact is that Greenpeace still acknowledges (in clear bold black characters) that " .. In 1971, motivated by their vision of a green and peaceful world, a small team of activists set sail from Vancouver, Canada, in an old fishing boat. These activists, the founders of Greenpeace, believed a few individuals could make a difference .. " (http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/about/impact/history).

For anyone who missed it, I repeat " .. These activists, the founders of Greenpeace .. ".

Not only that but it provides a black-and-white version of this photo' showing 11 of those founders standing on the deck of the fishing ship the Phyllis Cormack alongside the Greenpeace banner.






















The activist standing directly under the "P" of "GREENPEACE" is none other than - Patrick Moore.

What does that tell us? - clearly, Dr. Patrick Moore is being totally honest when claiming to have been a co-founder of the Greenpeace organisation, which at that time was known as the Don't Make a Wave Committee, a registered not-for-profit. Shortly after the unsuccessful Phillis Cormack voyage the committee changed its name to the Greenpeace Foundation.

In his E-mail of the 17th Oct. 2015 Dr. Moore commented on Greenpeace's attempts to "vanish" him as a co-founder QUOTE: .. 

They are just silly. My name was listed on their websites as a founder until Feb. 2007, eleven years after I left. They took it down and wrote all that nasty stuff because I came out publicly in favour of nuclear energy. I believe we made a big mistake lumping nuclear energy with nuclear weapons when it should be lumped with nuclear medicine as a peaceful and beneficial use of nuclear technology.. See here from early Feb. 2007.



The word Greenpeace was first used to nickname our boat when we sailed to Alaska against the US H-Bomb tests. The name of the organization was changed in March or May 1972, From The Don’t Make a Wave Committee to The Greenpeace Foundation (Bob Hunter took Foundation from Isaac Asimov’s “Foundation Trilogy). I have the Incorporation document.

On top of this Greenpeace has always celebrates its “birthday” as September 15, 1971, the day the boat sailed for Alaska. I was there 6 months before that helping to plan the voyage, so I was not just there for the “birth” but also for the “gestation”. http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/makingwaves/40-years-of-inspiring-action/blog/36808/ 

.. UNQUOTE.

It's not too difficult to spot that fourth name in the list of co-founders - Patrick Moore, ecology student at the University of British Columbia.

I doubt very much if Marco or Greg Leden will accept the facts presented here as evidence that even Greenpeace acknowledged that Dr. Patrick Moore was a co-founder of the organisation but anyone with blinkers removed should have no problem. Meanwhile, the credibility of anything that Greg and Marco say, whether about founding members of Greenpeace, the Catastrophic Anthropogenic Climate Change (CACC) hypothesis or anything else must be drawn into question.


2020-10-28 UPDATE

This debate over whether or not Patrick Moore was a founding member of Greenpeace lingers on, despite archived evidence from Greenpeace's own web pages supporting his status as one of them.

Discussing the merits and otherwise of renewable energy in Feb. 2007 Patrick Moore had declared " .. As a lifelong environmentalist, a co-founder and 15-year leader of Greenpeace .. I am perplexed by this logical inconsistency. It is simply not credible to claim that wind and solar energy can replace coal and natural gas. .. wind and solar must be backed up with baseload energy so there is power when the wind stops blowing and the sun is not shining. Simply put, the only choice is between fossil fuel and nuclear. I choose nuclear for clear and compelling environmental reasons .. " (https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/patrick-moore-nuclear-energy-yes-please-436399.html).

For daring to express those well-founded opinions, Greenpeace subsequently has attempted to change its history by:
-  removing from most of its numerous websites all reference to Patrick Moore as a founding member,
- claiming since 4th March 2019 that " .. Although Mr. Moore played a significant role in Greenpeace Canada for several years, he did not found Greenpeace. Phil Cotes, Irving Stowe, and Jim Bohlen founded Greenpeace in 1970 .. " (https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/news/greenpeace-statement-on-patric/) - see Footnotes 1 and 4).

The Wayback Machine appears to thwart the global Greenpeace organisation's denial of Patrick Moore's status as a founding member. It holds a major archive of pages from the WorldWideWeb showing that prior to his 2007 statement Greenpeace recognised Patrick Moore as one of its founding members.

To date (Oct. 2020) Greenpeace UK still acknowledges that " .. Greenpeace was founded in 1971 by a small group of concerned individuals, who set sail to Amchitka .. " (https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/about-greenpeace/ - archived in case Greenpeace decides to "vanish" that entry like it has tried to do with Moore's status as a founding member. See also Footnote 1). The objective of sailing to the Alaskan island was to try to stop further underground nuclear testing there.
 
That "small group" who founded Greenpeace and crewed the "Phyllis Cormack" used to be pictured on several Greenpeace websites. Many, if not all, have been removed but the Wayback archive retains them (e.g. see https://web.archive.org/web/20070417040137/http://www.greenpeace.org/international/photosvideos/photos/crew-of-the-phyllis-cormack-f).
Patrick Moore is the crew member in a lumber jacket and jeans standing directly under the P of the "GREENPEACE" banner (see Footnote 1).

Retained in the Wayback Machine archive for all to see are numerous copies of Greenpeace web pages going back decades. A page from 1997 declares that " .. Greenpeace was conceived in 1971 when members of the Don't Make A Wave Committee in Vancouver, Canada, renamed their organization the better to proclaim their purpose: to create a green and peaceful world .. " (https://web.archive.org/web/19970616170643/http://www.greenpeace.org/gpi.html). There was no Greenpeace organisation and no appearance of the merged pair of words Green Peace in the media prior to that DMAWC committee meeting in 1971.

Under the title "The Founders of Greenpeace" this Greenpeace declaration includes

QUOTE .. 

In October, 1969 the US .. exploded a nuclear bomb on the tiny island of Amchitka, located near Alaska in one of the most earthquake-prone regions in the world .. Many feared the blast would result in an earthquake. .. 10,000 protestors blocked the major US-Canadian border crossing, unfurling a banner that read: "Don't Make a Wave. It's Your Fault if Our Fault Goes". The US ignored the protests, and promptly announced plans for another test in 1971.

In 1970, the Don't Make A Wave Committee was established; its sole objective was to stop the second test. The committee's founders and first members included:
- Paul Cote, ... 
- Jim Bohlen, ... 
- Irving Stowe, ...
- Patrick Moore, ecology student at the University of British Columbia 
- Bill Darnell, ...
Darnell came up with the dynamic combination of words to bind together the group's concern for the planet and opposition to nuclear arms. The committee was renamed Greenpeace.

The group organised a boat, the Phyllis Cormack, and set sail to Amchitka to "bear witness" (a Quaker tradition of silent protest) to the nuclear test. On board were: 
- Captain John Cormack, the boat's owner 
- Jim Bohlen, Greenpeace 
- Bill Darnell, Greenpeace 
- Patrick Moore, Greenpeace 
- Dr Lyle Thurston, medical practitioner 
- Dave Birmingham, engineer 
- Terry Simmons, cultural geographer 
- Richard Fineberg, political science teacher 
- Robert Hunter, journalist 
- Ben Metcalfe, journalist 
- Bob Cummings, journalist 
- Bob Keziere, photographer
Stowe, who suffered from sea-sickness, stayed on shore to coordinate political pressure. Cote stayed behind too, because he was about to represent Canada in an Olympic sailing race.
 
Greenpeace's next journey spread their reputation across the world. In 1972, Greenpeace boarded the Vega, bound for France's nuclear testing site at Moruroa Atoll ...

UNQUOTE.

The Greenpeace.org website used to state that 

QUOTE:- .. from the "Greenpeace Annual Report 1992-1993" Introduction to Greenpeace 

Greenpeace was conceived in 1971 when members of the Don't Make A Wave Committee in Vancouver, Canada, renamed their organization the better to proclaim their purpose: to create a green and peaceful world .. 

UNQUOTE (previously available on https://www.greenpeace.org/gpi.html and used to appear on numerous Greenpeace International/Global sites). 

Fortunately copies of this clear statement on the Greenpeace.org website have been archived on several occasions since 1997 (e.g see this 2005 copy of a "Greenpeace Australia Pacific" page at https://web.archive.org/web/20050207230905/http://www.greenpeace.org.au/aboutus/founders.html).

The same statement appeared in the preface to a 1998 "Fisheries Conservation and Trade Rules" report (https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/fisheriesconservation.pdf) published by and available from the copyright holders the Center for International Environmental Law and Greenpeace.

Those extracts from Greenpeace and CIEL web sites clearly show that in 1970 Patrick Moore was one of the members of the Don't Make A Wave Committee who attended the meeting at which they decided to:
- demonstrate against the USA's planned Oct. 1971 underground nuclear test on Amchitka by sailing into the test area (see Footnote 1), 
- adopt the name Greenpeace for the organisation, rather than retain the original DMAW committee name, which failed to reflect the group's wider ecological concerns.

These extracts and those from Greenpeace member Paul Watson (Footnote 2) also clearly show that Moore was a founding member of the Greenpeace organisation at its conception in September 1971 through to birth as the Greenpeace Foundation then development into Greenpeace International.

In a 2015 interview Patrick Moore claimed that he " .. went on in Greenpeace to create Greenpeace International in 1979 .. an out of court settlement of a copyright lawsuit that we filed against the U.S. [Green Peace] organization that was trying to break away and take our name and history with it .. " (https://www.oilandgas360.com/greenpeace-international-founder-says-environmental-movement-has-left-the-rails-an-exclusive-oil-gas-360-interview-part-one/).

FOOTNOTES

1) In his E-mail of the 17th Oct. 2015 Patrick Moore said " .. Greenpeace has always celebrated its “birthday” as September 15, 1971, the day the boat sailed for Alaska. I was there 6 months before that helping to plan the voyage, so I was not just there for the “birth” but also for the “gestation” http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/makingwaves/40-years-of-inspiring-action/blog/36808/ .. ".

2) Another Greenpeace member subsequently disowned by the organisation was leading anti-whaling activist Paul Watson (founder and President of the Sea Shepherd organisation) made some interesting criticisms of Greenpeace, including " .. I was the youngest member of the Don't Make a Wave Committee in 1970 .. a crew-member on the first Greenpeace campaign to oppose nuclear testing at Amchitka. .. When Greenpeace was officially registered as the Greenpeace Foundation in 1972  .. Robert Hunter's membership number was #000, Roberta Hunter's membership was #001, and mine was  #007. I've still got the card .. In September 1979, I was one of the eight signatory founders of Greenpeace International .. two years after Greenpeace claims I was dismissed from the organization for advocating “violent” tactics .. The Phyllis Cormack took a crew of 13 to the Aleutians. After a month, they returned, and they were relieved by the 35 crew on the Greenpeace Too. I was one .. It was our ship that was on site when the underground bomb was detonated .. Rod Marining, Chris Bergthorson, and myself were the only co-founders near Amchitka that day. Although I was active with the Don’t Make a Wave Committee in 1969 .. Greenpeace did not actually exist until 1972 when the name Don’t Make a Wave Committee was changed to the Greenpeace Foundation .. I was .. never expelled from Greenpeace. I was voted off the Board of Directors in a motion tabled by Patrick Moore who opposed my aggressive opposition to baby seal killers. The underlying reason for this was I was a threat to his taking over the leadership of Greenpeace from Bob Hunter. I was free to continue to work with Greenpeace, but I chose not to .. I resigned voluntarily from Greenpeace .. I remain a lifetime member of Greenpeace, unless they have now revoked my lifetime membership .. " (https://www.seashepherd.org.uk/news-and-commentary/commentary/greenpeace-meets-george-orwell-greenpeace-rewrites-history.html).

Despite Patrick Moore tabling that motion to have him removed as a Greenpeace director,  in a 14th March 2019 tweet Paul Watson said that " .. Both Moore & I were crew members on the First campaign to Amchitka in Oct & Nov 1971. Greenpeace was established in 1972 and Moore along with Bob Hunter, Bobbi Hunter Rod Marining, and others were the founding directors.... " (https://mobile.twitter.com/captpaulwatson/status/1106327371718774784).

3) Patrick Moore rejects many of Paul Watson's claims in a detailed account of his own involvement in Greenpeace (http://greenspiritstrategies.com/who-are-the-founders-of-greenpeace/).

4) The original July 6, 2010 "Greenpeace Statement On Patrick Moore" did not include the quoted paragraph that denies his status as a founding member, evidenced by the first copy archived in July 2015. That paragraph was added as an update on the 11th March 2019, apparently inspired by a 4th March Patrick Moore tweet (https://mobile.twitter.com/EcoSenseNow/status/1102018074016796673?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fpolitics%2Fgreenpeace-co-founder-tears-into-ocasio-cortez-green-new-deal-pompous-little-twit) reacting to the Green New Deal promoted by Rep. Alexandria-Ocasio-Cortez.

Greenpeace immediately responded to Patrick Moore's tweet with an article on its USA website distancing itself from his views and denying that he was a founding member of Greenpeace (https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/news/greenpeace-response-to-patrick-moore-statements-on-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-and-the-green-new-deal/).

Subsequently (11th March) Greenpeace added that denial paragraph to its July 6, 2010 "Greenpeace Statement On Patrick Moore". On 12th March Fox News reported on Patrick Moore's views on the Green Mew Deal (https://www.foxnews.com/politics/former-greenpeace-founder-patrick-moore-the-green-new-deal-would-lead-to-the-end-of-civilization).

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