The Greenpeace Philosophy

Ecology has taught us that the whole earth is part of our "body" and that we must learn to respect it as we respect ourselves. As we feel for ourselves, we must feel for all forms of life - the whales, the seals, the forests, the seas.

The tremendous beauty of ecological thought is that it shows us a pathway back to an understanding and an appreciation of life itself - and understanding and appreciation to that very way of life.

As with the whales and the seals, life must be saved by non-violent confrontations and by what the Quakers call "bearing witness." A person bearing witness must accept responsibility for being aware of an injustice. That person may then choose to do something or stand by, but he may not turn away in ignorance.

The Greenpeace ethic is not only to personally bear witness to atrocities against life; it is to take direct action to prevent them. While action must be direct, it must also be non-violent. We must obstruct a wrong without offering personal violence to its perpetrators. Our greatest strength must be life itself, and the commitment to direct our own lives to protect others.