Don't Make a Wave Committee
Encyclopedia
The Don't Make a Wave Committee was the name of the anti-nuclear
organization which later evolved into Greenpeace
, a global environmental organization. The Don't Make a Wave Committee was founded in Vancouver
, British Columbia
, Canada
to protest and attempt to halt further underground nuclear testing by the United States in the National Wildlife refuge at Amchitka
in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska
. The Don't Make a Wave Committee was first formed in October 1969 and officially established in early 1970.
In the late 1960s, the U.S had plans for an underground nuclear weapon test in the tectonically unstable island of Amchitka
at Alaska
. Because of the 1964 Alaska earthquake the plans raised some concerns of the test triggering earthquakes and causing a tsunami
. A 1969 demonstration of 7,000 people blocked a major US-Canadian border crossing in British Columbia, carrying signs reading "Don't Make A Wave. It's Your Fault If Our Fault Goes". Further demonstrations occurred at U.S. border crossings in Ontario and Quebec. The protests did not stop the US from detonating the bomb.
While no earthquake nor tsunami followed the test, the opposition grew when the U.S. announced they would detonate a bomb five times more powerful than the first one. Among the opposers were Jim Bohlen
, a veteran who had served the U.S. Navy during the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
and Irving
and Dorothy Stowe, a Quaker couple. As members of the Sierra Club
they were frustrated in the lack of action by the organization and in October 1969 they started meeting at a church basement, calling themselves as the Don't Make a Wave Committee and planning anti-nuclear protests. From Irving Stowe, Jim Bohlen learned of form of passive resistance, "bearing witness", where objectionable activity is protested simply by mere presence. Jim Bohlen's wife Marie came up with the idea to sail to Amchitka, inspired by the anti-nuclear voyages of Albert Bigelow
in 1958. The idea ended up in the press and was linked to The Sierra Club. The Sierra Club did not like this connection and in 1970 Jim and Marie Bohlen, Irving and Dorothy Stowe and Paul Cote, a law student and peace activist established The Don't Make a Wave Committee, working independently of The Sierra Club. Early meetings were held in the Shaughnessy home of Robert
and Bobbi Hunter. The first office was opened in a back-room, storefront off Broadway on Cypress in Kitsilano, (Vancouver).
During meetings in 1970 Bill Darnell combined the words ‘green’ and ‘peace’, thereby giving the organization its first expedition name, Greenpeace
. Many Canadians protested the United States military underground nuclear bomb tests, codenamed Cannikin, beneath the island of Amchitka, Alaska in 1971. The Don't Make a Wave Committee first expedition hired the Phyllis Cormack, a halibut seiner available for charter, to take protestors to the testing zone on the island of Amchitka. The expedition was called Greenpeace I, and included Canadian journalist Robert Hunter
. In the fall of 1971 the ship sailed towards Amchitka and faced the U.S. navy ship Confidence. Even though the crew of the Confidence expressed their personal support to the cause of Greenpeace, the activists were forced to turn back. Because of this and the increasingly bad weather the crew decided to return to Canada only to find out that the news about their journey and the support from the crew of the Confidence had generated widespread compassion for their protest. Greenpeace chartered another ship, a former minesweeper Edgewater Fortune, which was renamed the Greenpeace Too!. Paul Watson
, an early member who was unable to join the first expedition due to work and studies, was among the second expedition crew. One day out of Amchitka the United States Atomic Energy Commission exploded a Hydrogen bomb underground a day earlier than scheduled on November 6, 1971. The nuclear test gained widespread criticism and the U.S. decided not to continue with their test plans at Amchitka. In 1972, The Don't Make a Wave committee changed their official name to Greenpeace Foundation.
On 4 May 1972, following Irving Stowe's departure from the chairmanship of the Don't Make A Wave Committee, the fledgling environmental group officially changed its name to the "Greenpeace Foundation". Later that year David McTaggart
would sail his yacht, Greenpeace III, to French Polynesia
to oppose the French atmospheric nuclear tests at Mururoa atoll, supported by the new Greenpeace Foundation.
Anti-nuclear
The anti-nuclear movement is a social movement that opposes the use of nuclear technologies. Many direct action groups, environmental groups, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, national, and international level...
organization which later evolved into Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
, a global environmental organization. The Don't Make a Wave Committee was founded in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
to protest and attempt to halt further underground nuclear testing by the United States in the National Wildlife refuge at Amchitka
Amchitka
Amchitka is a volcanic, tectonically unstable island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in southwest Alaska. It is part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. The island is about long, and from wide...
in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. The Don't Make a Wave Committee was first formed in October 1969 and officially established in early 1970.
In the late 1960s, the U.S had plans for an underground nuclear weapon test in the tectonically unstable island of Amchitka
Amchitka
Amchitka is a volcanic, tectonically unstable island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in southwest Alaska. It is part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. The island is about long, and from wide...
at Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. Because of the 1964 Alaska earthquake the plans raised some concerns of the test triggering earthquakes and causing a tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
. A 1969 demonstration of 7,000 people blocked a major US-Canadian border crossing in British Columbia, carrying signs reading "Don't Make A Wave. It's Your Fault If Our Fault Goes". Further demonstrations occurred at U.S. border crossings in Ontario and Quebec. The protests did not stop the US from detonating the bomb.
While no earthquake nor tsunami followed the test, the opposition grew when the U.S. announced they would detonate a bomb five times more powerful than the first one. Among the opposers were Jim Bohlen
Jim Bohlen
Jim Bohlen , was an American engineer who worked on the Atlas ICBM missile program, later emigrated to Canada after becoming disillusioned with the US government's nuclear policy during the Cold War and one of the co-founders of Greenpeace.Bohlen, one of the approximately half-dozen founders of...
, a veteran who had served the U.S. Navy during the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
During the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States conducted two atomic bombings against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, the first on August 6, 1945, and the second on August 9, 1945. These two events are the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date.For six months...
and Irving
Irving Stowe
Irving Harold Stowe was a Yale lawyer, activist, visionary and a key founder of Greenpeace. He was named one of the “BAM 100” ....
and Dorothy Stowe, a Quaker couple. As members of the Sierra Club
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...
they were frustrated in the lack of action by the organization and in October 1969 they started meeting at a church basement, calling themselves as the Don't Make a Wave Committee and planning anti-nuclear protests. From Irving Stowe, Jim Bohlen learned of form of passive resistance, "bearing witness", where objectionable activity is protested simply by mere presence. Jim Bohlen's wife Marie came up with the idea to sail to Amchitka, inspired by the anti-nuclear voyages of Albert Bigelow
Albert Bigelow
Albert S. Bigelow was a pacifist and former United States Navy Commander, who came to prominence in the 1950s as the skipper of the Golden Rule, the first vessel to attempt disruption of a nuclear test in protest against nuclear weapons.-Peace Movement:Prior to his involvement in the peace...
in 1958. The idea ended up in the press and was linked to The Sierra Club. The Sierra Club did not like this connection and in 1970 Jim and Marie Bohlen, Irving and Dorothy Stowe and Paul Cote, a law student and peace activist established The Don't Make a Wave Committee, working independently of The Sierra Club. Early meetings were held in the Shaughnessy home of Robert
Robert Hunter (journalist)
Robert Lorne Hunter was a Canadian environmentalist, journalist, author and politician. A member of the Don't Make a Wave Committee in 1969 with Dorothy and Irving Stowe, Marie and Jim Bohlen, and Ben and Dorothy Metcalfe...
and Bobbi Hunter. The first office was opened in a back-room, storefront off Broadway on Cypress in Kitsilano, (Vancouver).
During meetings in 1970 Bill Darnell combined the words ‘green’ and ‘peace’, thereby giving the organization its first expedition name, Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
. Many Canadians protested the United States military underground nuclear bomb tests, codenamed Cannikin, beneath the island of Amchitka, Alaska in 1971. The Don't Make a Wave Committee first expedition hired the Phyllis Cormack, a halibut seiner available for charter, to take protestors to the testing zone on the island of Amchitka. The expedition was called Greenpeace I, and included Canadian journalist Robert Hunter
Robert Hunter (journalist)
Robert Lorne Hunter was a Canadian environmentalist, journalist, author and politician. A member of the Don't Make a Wave Committee in 1969 with Dorothy and Irving Stowe, Marie and Jim Bohlen, and Ben and Dorothy Metcalfe...
. In the fall of 1971 the ship sailed towards Amchitka and faced the U.S. navy ship Confidence. Even though the crew of the Confidence expressed their personal support to the cause of Greenpeace, the activists were forced to turn back. Because of this and the increasingly bad weather the crew decided to return to Canada only to find out that the news about their journey and the support from the crew of the Confidence had generated widespread compassion for their protest. Greenpeace chartered another ship, a former minesweeper Edgewater Fortune, which was renamed the Greenpeace Too!. Paul Watson
Paul Watson
Paul Watson is a Canadian animal rights and environmental activist, who founded and is president of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a direct action group devoted to marine conservation....
, an early member who was unable to join the first expedition due to work and studies, was among the second expedition crew. One day out of Amchitka the United States Atomic Energy Commission exploded a Hydrogen bomb underground a day earlier than scheduled on November 6, 1971. The nuclear test gained widespread criticism and the U.S. decided not to continue with their test plans at Amchitka. In 1972, The Don't Make a Wave committee changed their official name to Greenpeace Foundation.
On 4 May 1972, following Irving Stowe's departure from the chairmanship of the Don't Make A Wave Committee, the fledgling environmental group officially changed its name to the "Greenpeace Foundation". Later that year David McTaggart
David McTaggart
David Fraser McTaggart was a Canadian-born environmentalist who played a central part in the foundation of Greenpeace International....
would sail his yacht, Greenpeace III, to French Polynesia
French Polynesia
French Polynesia is an overseas country of the French Republic . It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory...
to oppose the French atmospheric nuclear tests at Mururoa atoll, supported by the new Greenpeace Foundation.
See also
- GreenpeaceGreenpeaceGreenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
- Jim BohlenJim BohlenJim Bohlen , was an American engineer who worked on the Atlas ICBM missile program, later emigrated to Canada after becoming disillusioned with the US government's nuclear policy during the Cold War and one of the co-founders of Greenpeace.Bohlen, one of the approximately half-dozen founders of...
- Robert Hunter (journalist)Robert Hunter (journalist)Robert Lorne Hunter was a Canadian environmentalist, journalist, author and politician. A member of the Don't Make a Wave Committee in 1969 with Dorothy and Irving Stowe, Marie and Jim Bohlen, and Ben and Dorothy Metcalfe...
- Paul WatsonPaul WatsonPaul Watson is a Canadian animal rights and environmental activist, who founded and is president of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a direct action group devoted to marine conservation....
- Anti-nuclear movement in the United StatesAnti-nuclear movement in the United StatesThe anti-nuclear movement in the United States consists of more than 80 anti-nuclear groups which have acted to oppose nuclear power or nuclear weapons, or both, in the United States. These groups include the Abalone Alliance, Clamshell Alliance, Institute for Energy and Environmental Research,...
- Anti-nuclear movement in CanadaAnti-nuclear movement in CanadaCanada has an active anti-nuclear movement, which includes major campaigning organisations like Greenpeace and the Sierra Club. Over 300 public interest groups across Canada have endorsed the mandate of the Campaign for Nuclear Phaseout...
Further reading
- Sea Shepherd: My Fight for Whales and Seals (1981), Paul Watson (ISBN 0-393-01499-1)
- Don't Make a Wave Committee on the Greenpeace website