Greenpeace is the leading independent campaigning organization that uses non-violent direct action and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and to promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future.

In November 2000, support from the V. Kann Rasmussen Foundation enabled a 225-strong student delegation (representing 44 states and 120 colleges) to travel to The Hague, Netherlands for the Kyoto Protocol treaty negotiations, joining Greenpeace International's Amsterdam-based climate team. This was the first time such a large group of American students traveled abroad as environmental activists. They heard from global warming experts, including Dr. Robert Watson, head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (who has since called their presence the most inspiring environmental activism he has seen in his career); native Alaskans, who are experiencing climate change impacts first-hand; and journalist Bill McKibben.

Outreach to hometown press generated 150 news articles, op-eds and features on students including a full-page story in The New York Times. Concurrently, Greenpeace policy specialists painstakingly combed the text of the negotiations, critiquing proposals on sinks (the use of forests to absorb carbon dioxide), nuclear power and other crucial details. Teams of students then helped disseminate the latest Greenpeace recommendations. The students' approaches to these serious issues were creative, humorous and thought-provoking.

Greenpeace continues to work with these students. A smaller delegation was taken to the subsequent climate meeting, and the students who went to The Hague continue to form the core student environmental network for Greenpeace's grassroots efforts in the United States.

For more information visit: www.greenpeaceusa.org

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