The money was the proceeds from the very successful film show 'Chasing Ice' at the Astor at the end of November.
John Halladay from Greenpeace said "
The Arctic is a precious, beautiful region that faces an unprecedented threat. Oil companies are moving north, seeking to exploit its resources, while climate change is causing the Arctic to change beyond recognition. Three-quarters of the sea ice has melted since summer 1980, and scientists
predict the Arctic Ocean could be ice free in the next few decades. If that comes to pass it will be the
first time since humans developed our civilisation.
The only reason oil companies can drill there is because the ice is retreating. They’re drilling for the
oils that caused the melting in the first place. It’s crazy. We have to draw a line in the ice and say to
the oil companies, ‘You come no further’. That’s why Greenpeace has held peaceful protests in the
American, Norwegian, Greenlandic and Russian Arctic.
The Arctic is a region that could not cope with an oil spill of the magnitude of the Deepwater Horizon
disaster. It is forbidding, with darkness six months of the year, and ice returning every winter. BP
needed 6,000 boats to deal with the consequences of the Gulf of Mexico blow-out, but the Arctic
does not have an infrastructure to react at anything like that level.
The money raised by Deal With It will help to fund actions and campaigns to protect the Arctic - before it's too late."
More details on Greenpeace's campaign can be found out at their website http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/arctic
