Creator of the article:
Revealed Mar 19, 2025 • 2 minute learn
Article content material
A North Dakota jury on Wednesday discovered Greenpeace should pay tons of of thousands and thousands of {dollars} to a pipeline firm in reference to protests towards the Dakota Entry oil pipeline.
Article content material
Article content material
The jury discovered Greenpeace answerable for defamation and different claims and awarded Dallas-based Vitality Switch and subsidiary Dakota Entry greater than $650 million in damages.
The lawsuit accused Netherlands-based Greenpeace Worldwide, Greenpeace USA and funding arm Greenpeace Fund Inc. of defamation, trespass, nuisance, civil conspiracy and different acts.
Commercial 2
Article content material
Greenpeace stated earlier that a big award to the pipeline firm would threaten to bankrupt the environmental group. Following the nine-person jury’s verdict, Greenpeace’s senior authorized adviser stated the group’s work “is rarely going to cease.”
The impartial world campaigning community has been preventing for a wide selection of environmental points for greater than half a century and has a protracted historical past of contentious authorized battles.
Listed below are some issues to know:
How was Greenpeace based?
Environmental activists based the group in Vancouver, Canada, in 1971.
The community’s first motion was to work to cease extra nuclear weapons exams on Amchitka Island within the Aleutian island chain in southwest Alaska. They took a ship to the island to “bear witness,” which is a Quaker protest custom.
The U.S. later opted to desert their nuclear testing grounds on the island, marking Greenpeace’s first main victory.
The place did the identify Greenpeace come from?
Throughout preliminary work to cease the nuclear weapons exams on Amchitka, Canadian ecologist Invoice Darnell was leaving one of many group’s conferences when somebody held up two fingers and stated “peace!” in response to Greenpeace’s web site.
High Tales
Article content material
Commercial 3
Article content material
Darnell, who’s now thought of a founding member of Greenpeace, replied: “Let’s make it a Inexperienced Peace.”
The identify was condensed into one phrase so it may match on buttons for the group’s first fundraiser.
What does Greenpeace do at the moment?
Greenpeace describes itself as the most important environmental campaigning group on the planet. It’s made up of dozens of impartial nationwide or regional organizations in additional than 55 international locations, in response to its web site.
Its work to protect and restore invaluable ecosystems and push again on fossil gasoline companies is centered on nonviolent motion. Its protests have ranged from efforts to cease Shell from drilling for oil within the Alaskan Arctic to demonstrations to place an finish to France’s atmospheric exams within the South Pacific to campaigns to preserve Canada’s coastal rainforest.
Greenpeace and its activists have additionally been the goal of expenses and lawsuits, together with in 2023 when 4 activists have been arrested for scaling the nation property of former U.Ok. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and draping it in black cloth to protest his plan to increase oil and fuel drilling within the North Sea. They have been later cleared of prison expenses.
Commercial 4
Article content material
Who helps Greenpeace?
Greenpeace is an impartial community that doesn’t take cash from governments, companies or political events, in response to its web site. Its funding comes from particular person contributions, together with basis grants.
In 2023, Greenpeace USA had about $40 million in income and help and about $38 million in bills, in response to its on-line monetary assertion.
Its web site says it doesn’t contemplate anybody a everlasting good friend or enemy.
“In case your authorities or firm is keen to vary, we’ll work with you to realize your goals,” its web site states. “Reverse course, and we might be again.”
Article content material
