Greenpeace blocks palm oil tanker: Heroes or crazies?
As we've highlighted here on Green Daily in the past, palm oil -- well ... it kinda sucks. Each year, thousands of acres of rain forest are chainsawed to make way for the rapidly growing palm oil farming industry, and let's just say industry practices aren't exactly sustainable. Still, when a tanker full of legally produced palm oil tries to leave a port in Indonesia on its way to Europe, is it OK for Greenpeace to use its sea-faring forces to form a naval blockade?According to a report from Reuters, Greenpeacers once again formed a symbolic blockade with their ships and trademark rubber lifeboats in order to stop three tankers from leaving the Port of Dumai in Sumatra. One of the ships detained by Greenpeace was the Gran Couve, owned by the world's largest palm oil supplier Wilmar International. Apparently, a few activists chained themselves to the ship's anchor.
Certainly, this isn't the first time that activists have turned to extreme methods in order to make a statement on the high seas, for example: earlier this year, the Sea Shepherds pelted Japanese whalers with bottles of rancid oil. With the latest news from Greenpeace, I'm once again starting to wonder: will these in-your-face tactics will eventually escalate into a nasty and violent confrontation?
What do you think: Are these guys doing the necessary work that must be don? Are they missing the point by proteseting palm oil instead of deforestation? Are their actions dangerously irresponsible?
[via Treehugger]
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