Greenpeace Foundation

Greenpeace Foundation is an environmental organization based in Hawaii, United States. It was officially established in 1976 as an independent offshoot of the Vancouver-based Canadian Greenpeace Foundation and is described as the oldest organization using the Greenpeace name in the United States. Its origins lie in the wider peace and environmental activism of the early 1970s, when activists opposed nuclear weapons testing and sought to connect ecological protection with international peace. The Hawaii organization participated in the development of the broader Greenpeace movement during a period when direct action, maritime protest, public education, and media-oriented campaigning became central methods of environmental advocacy. In 1979, when the original Vancouver Greenpeace Foundation agreed to be represented through Greenpeace International, the Hawaii-based organization joined that arrangement. Its association with the wider Greenpeace network was not permanent. A dispute over wildlife-campaign objectives and fundraising ethics produced a schism in 1985, after which the Hawaii organization withdrew and continued as an unaffiliated group. According to DJ White, who led the organization from 1979 through 2023, the foundation bought and operated what it described as the first fully owned anti-whaling vessel associated with the movement. It also attributed to the Hawaii group the creation or coordination of campaigns concerning dolphin protection, driftnets, and the risks to dolphins associated with tuna fishing. The organization brought the vessel Rainbow Warrior into the Pacific in 1983 for whale, dolphin, and related environmental campaigns. These activities combined at-sea intervention with press relations, public education, and efforts to influence legislation without direct lobbying. The foundation has presented itself as a custodian of the movement's original direct-action and ecological values, while remaining institutionally separate from the larger Greenpeace organizations that operate under the Greenpeace International structure. Its work has included marine wildlife protection, anti-whaling advocacy, opposition to destructive fishing practices, and public communication about environmental issues. The available reference material does not establish a current executive structure, detailed financial information, or a complete account of its present programs. It does, however, characterize the organization as continuing to operate nationally and internationally outside the Greenpeace International network.

The Greenpeace Foundation emerged from the peace and environmental activism of the early 1970s. The developing Greenpeace movement grew out of opposition to nuclear testing and concern that ecological destruction and militarism threatened the planet together. Activists associated with the Canadian Don't Make a Wave Committee had protested United States nuclear testing at Amchitka in the Aleutian Islands and French atmospheric testing at Mururoa in French Polynesia. The expression "green peace" captured the movement's aspiration for a planet that was both ecologically healthy and free from war; by approximately 1973, the phrase had become the single word "Greenpeace." A Greenpeace Foundation was established in Vancouver, Canada, and the movement soon became known for highly visible direct action. Its early activities included an at-sea protest against whaling in 1975 and a prominent campaign against the clubbing of baby harp seals off Newfoundland beginning in 1976. The Hawaii-based Greenpeace Foundation was officially founded in 1976 as an independent offshoot of the Canadian organization. It became an early American institution using the Greenpeace name and developed a focus on marine wildlife, ocean campaigns, public education, and media relations. The Hawaii group was associated with the international reorganization of Greenpeace in 1979. When the Vancouver foundation agreed to be represented through Greenpeace International, the Hawaii organization joined the arrangement. During this period, the organization was associated with maritime campaigns and, according to its long-term leader DJ White, acquired and operated the first fully owned anti-whaling ship connected with its work. The foundation also claimed a role in developing international campaigns to protect dolphins, oppose driftnet fishing, and draw attention to dolphin deaths linked to tuna fishing. In 1983 it brought Rainbow Warrior into the Pacific for whale, dolphin, and related environmental campaigns. The relationship with the wider Greenpeace network deteriorated during the 1980s. A schism in 1985, attributed in the available account to disagreements about wildlife-campaign objectives and fundraising ethics, caused the Hawaii organization to withdraw. It thereafter remained unaffiliated with Greenpeace International and continued to operate independently in national and international contexts. The foundation has described its purpose as preserving the original values of the Greenpeace movement rather than functioning as part of the larger Greenpeace organizational system. Its methods have combined direct action at sea, environmental campaigning, public education, press and public-relations work, and efforts to influence legislation without lobbying. The available sources provide limited information about its finances, staffing, current programs, and governance after DJ White's leadership period. They do indicate that the organization continued to present itself as an independent environmental group focused especially on whales, dolphins, fisheries, and broader marine conservation.

• 2023

  End of DJ White's documented leadership period

  [1]Greenpeace Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  DJ White is identified as the organization's leader from 1979 through 2023; the available reference does not identify a successor.

• 1985

  Withdrawal from the Greenpeace network

  [1]Greenpeace Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  Disagreements about wildlife campaign priorities and fundraising ethics led the Hawaii organization to leave its association with the wider Greenpeace structure.

• 1983

  Rainbow Warrior enters the Pacific

  [1]Greenpeace Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  The foundation brought Rainbow Warrior into the Pacific for campaigns involving whales, dolphins, and other environmental causes.

• 1979

  Association with Greenpeace International begins

  [1]Greenpeace Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  The Hawaii foundation joined the representation arrangement created when the Vancouver Greenpeace Foundation entered the Greenpeace International structure.

• 1976

  Greenpeace Foundation founded in Hawaii

  [1]Greenpeace Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  The Hawaii-based organization was officially established as an independent offshoot of the Canadian Greenpeace Foundation.

Independent environmental advocacy organization emphasizing marine conservation, direct action, public education, media engagement, and the original ecological and peace-oriented values associated with the Greenpeace movement.

• 1983Rainbow Warrior Pacific campaigns

  Pacific · International

  The foundation brought Rainbow Warrior into the Pacific for campaigns involving whales, dolphins, and other marine environmental issues.

  Source
• 1976Harp seal protection campaign

  Canada · International

  The early Greenpeace movement conducted a high-profile campaign against the clubbing of baby harp seals off Newfoundland. This campaign formed part of the movement's early marine-wildlife advocacy context.

  Source
• 1975Anti-whaling at-sea protest

  International

  The foundation's wider Greenpeace lineage included an early at-sea protest against whaling, establishing maritime direct action as a central environmental campaigning method.

  Source
• Dolphin-saving campaign

  International

  According to DJ White's account, the Hawaii foundation created and conducted an international campaign focused on protecting dolphins.

  Source
• Driftnet campaign

  International

  The foundation is credited in the reference material with creating and coordinating a worldwide campaign against the environmental effects of driftnet fishing.

  Source
• Dolphin-deadly tuna campaign

  International

  The organization is credited with creating and coordinating a worldwide campaign concerning dolphin deaths associated with tuna fishing.

  Source

• 1985

  Withdraw from the wider Greenpeace structureStrategy

  Background

  A schism developed over wildlife campaign objectives and fundraising ethics.

  Action taken

  The Hawaii organization withdrew from its association with Greenpeace International and continued as an unaffiliated organization.

  Aftermath

  The foundation continued to describe itself as an independent representative of the original Greenpeace movement's values, with national and international activity.

  Source

• 1979

  Join the Greenpeace International representation arrangementStrategy

  Background

  The Vancouver Greenpeace Foundation agreed to be represented through Greenpeace International, creating a broader international structure for organizations using the Greenpeace name.

  Action taken

  The Hawaii-based Greenpeace Foundation joined the arrangement while retaining its own organizational identity.

  Aftermath

  The association ended after a 1985 dispute over wildlife campaign goals and fundraising ethics.

  Source

1. 1Greenpeace Foundationen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Greenpeace Foundation official websitegreenpeacefoundation.org