Greenpeaceâ??s Rainbow Warrior UK bound

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Greenpeaceâ??s flagship vessel, the Rainbow Warrior, is heading for UK waters and is inviting members of the public to come aboard. Due to arrive in London on October 20th as part Greenpeaceâ??s Give Coal the Boot campaign, she then moves on to Kent and finally Southend Pier in Essex on October 25th and 26th.Heads of a range of charities including Oxfam, The Womenâ??s Institute and Tearfund are boarding in Kent (where the first coal power station for a generation is being planned at Kingsnorth) in a show of support for the charityâ??s anti-coal campaign.The original Rainbow Warrior began sailing in 1985 but was famously bombed and sunk soon after by agents of the French government in an attempt to foil protests of the countryâ??s nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific. A Greenpeace photographer, Fernando Pereira, onboard at the time, was killed. The world was shocked and as a result the anti-nuclear campaign gained global support.The replacement boat, that docking in the UK, has been sailing since July 1989 and in its time has been boarded by a host of celebrities, religious leaders and royalty. Famous for her part in the blockade of whaling fleets she is also responsible for many other less known ventures including the relocation of an entire population of a South Pacific Island contaminated by radiation, providing disaster relief to the victims of 2004 tsunami in South East Asia and staging peaceful anti-war protests.One-third of all carbon pollution comes from burning coal, and power plants are the largest source; Greenpeace hopes to highlight our dependency on the fossil fuel and the need for a shift to alternative energy sources. A variety of high profile campaigns, on-board and in-port activities, exhibitions and concerts aims to help the public understand how they can cut down on coal consumption. Along with the UK 10 other Mediterranean and European countries will be visited ahead of crucial UN climate negotiations taking place in Poznan, Poland this December.To book your place onboard log onto: www.greenpeace.org.uk/forms/come-board-rainbow-warrior-public

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