Greenpeace Charged With Violating Alaskan Environmental Law
Greenpeace had an embarrassing moment yesterday: Alaskan officials slapped the eco-activist group with criminal charges for sending a ship into state waters without submitting the required oil-spill prevention documents. The vessel, the Arctic Sunrise, is carting 27 activists around Southeast Alaska to protest logging in the Tongass National Forest. “They had no plan to show they were capable of responding to [an oil spill], they had no way to show they were financially responsible for paying the cost,” said Mark Morones of the Alaska Department of Law. “You’d think that they’d be out in front of this.” Greenpeace said it was simply an oversight, corrected as soon as it was discovered. “It was a clerical error about paperwork and not about environmental protection,” said Greenpeace spokesperson Carol Gregory. “We’re Greenpeace. Of course we want to work within all environmental laws.”
