Greenpeace- Helping To Save Our Planet Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Greenpeace began life in Vancouver, Canada, as the 'Don't Make A Wave Committee' in 1970. What was the original purpose for this group coming together?

Answer: Stop a nuclear test

The United States was planning to test a nuclear device on Amchitka Island in the Aleutians. The committee, comprising of 7 people, got together to discuss what they could do to stop it. The original 7 members were Dorothy and Irving Stowe, Marie and Jim Bohlen, Ben and Dorothy Metcalfe, and Bob Hunter.

The name 'Don't Make A Wave' is said to have come from fears that the test would cause a tidal wave if it went ahead.

2. The name 'Greenpeace' was given to the group by a newspaper journalist.

Answer: False

According to Bob Hunter, one of the founders, they were leaving a meeting and someone walked passed and gave them the typical two finger sign of the 1970s and said "Peace". Bill Darnell, a Canadian ecologist who was at the meeting, said "Let's make it a Green Peace". Paul Bohlen, the son of one of the founders was having trouble getting it all on a pin badge, so he linked the two words together and Greenpeace was born.

3. Greenpeace's most famous vessel is named the Rainbow Warrior. How did she get this name?

Answer: From a book

The story goes that in 1971, Bob Hunter was on a voyage in the North Pacific and found and read a book of American Indian prophesies. One of these stories, and the title of the book, was about a group who would turn up when the Earth was sick and help to heal it.

The book was called 'Warriors Of The Rainbow'. It was written by William Willoya and Vinson Brown and was first published in 1962. The original name of the vessel was 'Sir William Hardy', a UK trawler launched in 1955.

4. The original Rainbow Warrior is no longer on active duty with Greenpeace. What has happened to her?

Answer: She was scuttled

In July 1985, Rainbow Warrior was in Auckland, New Zealand. She was there to lead a flotilla of small boats to try and stop the French Government detonating a nuclear weapon on Moruroa Atoll in French Polynesia. Just before midnight on July 10th two bombs, set by agents of the French Secret Service, exploded and sunk her. One person, a photographer called Fernando Pereira, died in the explosions.

She was re-floated in August of 1987 for forensic tests, but was so badly damaged she could not be repaired.

In December 1987, following a Maori ceremony, she was finally scuttled off New Zealand's east coast to serve as a dive wreck and fish sanctuary. The current Rainbow Warrior was officially launched on the fourth anniversary of the bombing.

5. As a result of the attack on Greenpeace's Rainbow Warrior, how many members of the French authorities resigned their positions?

Answer: 1

The only person to resign was Charles Hernu, the then Minister of Defence. Admiral Pierre Lacoste, head of the DGSE, the French Secret Service, was sacked. This happened after an article in the London Sunday Times that implied President Mitterrand had known of the plot and had, therefore, authorised it.

After an exhaustive investigation by the New Zealand Police, two French agents were arrested and charged with murder. Because of a deal that was overseen by the United Nations,which resulted in France paying compensation of NZ $13 million, both agents were back in France by May 1988. Greenpeace also received a compensation payment of NZ $8 million.

This enabled Greenpeace to replace the Rainbow Warrior.

6. On April 30, 1995, Greenpeace occupied a disused oil storage platform in the North Sea to prevent it being towed to the North Atlantic to be sunk. As there were some toxic chemicals, including an estimated 50 tonnes of oil still on board, this could have caused major pollution of the ocean. What was the name of the platform Greenpeace occupied?

Answer: Brent Spar

The operators of the Brent Spar, Shell Oil, had come to an agreement with the British Government to tow it to an area 250Km off the west coast of Scotland, called the North Fenni Ridge, and sink it at a depth of 2.5Km. The occupation by Greenpeace, which lasted for 3 weeks, and the subsequent bad publicity for Shell, made the company change its mind. Since the Brent Spar incident there has been an International agreement that all such facilities will be dismantled on land.

7. Greenpeace's most famous vessel is, of course, the Rainbow Warrior. She is not the only vessel in the Greenpeace fleet however. As of early 2008, how many other vessels, excluding inflatables, do Greenpeace operate?

Answer: 3

The three other vessels in the fleet, in 2008, are the Arctic Sunrise, the Esperanza and the Argus. The Arctic Sunrise is a ship that Greenpeace, ironically, confronted when trying to prevent an airstrip being constructed through a penguin colony in the Antarctic.

The Esperanza, which is Spanish for 'Hope', was originally built as a fire fighting vessel for the Russian Government. There is a web cam on board which you can log onto via the Greenpeace website. Both of these ships were designed to work in the polar regions.

The Argus is deployed in and around Rotterdam and is used to monitor water and soil pollution in the area.

8. In its early days Greenpeace was a bit fractured, with its various worldwide committees operating more or less independently of each other. In 1979, the Canadian environmentalist David McTaggart lobbied for the movement to become a global organisation. In October of that year, Greenpeace International was born. Where is their main base?

Answer: Amsterdam, Holland

David McTaggart was chairman and chief spokesman for Greenpeace International from its beginning until he retired in 1991 to live on an olive farm in Umbria, Italy. He died as a result of a car accident in March 2001. In 1972, McTaggart was outraged at nuclear testing on Moruroa Atoll, and in his renamed vessel, Greenpeace III, anchored downwind of the test site.

This caused the test to be postponed. His boat was rammed, despite being in International waters and he had to leave the site for repairs.

It was through his actions that the French Government, after several physical attacks on him and more than one court case, abandoned atmospheric nuclear testing.

9. Greenpeace is not just devoted to stopping nuclear testing and preventing pollution of our oceans. They campaign on a large variety of environmental issues, including energy efficiency. In March 2008, which country announced that they are bringing in legislation to ban the sale of ordinary incandescent light bulbs?

Answer: Argentina

Argentina was the first South American country to pass legislation to ban the sale of incandescent light bulbs. Other South American countries, as well as other countries across the planet, have introduced initiatives, such as distributing low energy bulbs for free, or subsidising the cost, but Argentina was the first country in South America to introduce legislation giving a time frame for the total withdrawal by 2010.

10. The Greenpeace tradition of non-violent protest stems from the fact that one of the founder members was an admirer of Mahatma Gandhi, and he decided to follow his example.

Answer: False

The idea of non-violence came from Irving Stowe, one of the founders, who was a Quaker. He introduced Jim Bohlen to the Quaker religion, and the tradition of 'bearing witness' became part of the Greenpeace ethos.

Source: Author romeomikegolf

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor trident before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Greenpeace is an environmental group that is known the world over. They have grown from a very simple beginning into a global organization. You have probably heard of them, but how much do you know about them?

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>