The environmental protest group Greenpeace was founded in Canada in 1971 (it had previously functioned as a group called the Don’t Make A Wave Committee).
Their first mission was to disrupt nuclear tests planned by the US government on Amchitka Island, Alaska. They succeeded – and Greenpeace quickly grew to become an international body, funded by its members, with headquarters in Amsterdam, Holland.
As well as fighting pollution, Greenpeace worked (and continue to work) to stop testing of nuclear weapons and to save species of animals and plants that are in danger of dying out.
Greenpeace activists have never used violence but often take drastic action to stop governments or industries that are damaging the environment.
