International environmental pressure group, founded in Vancouver, Canada, in 1971, with a policy of non-violent direct action backed by scientific research. During a protest against French atmospheric nuclear testing in the South Pacific in 1985, its ship
Rainbow Warrior was sunk by French intelligence agents, killing a crew member. In 1995, it played a prominent role in opposing the disposal of waste from an oil rig in the North Sea, and again attempted to disrupt French nuclear tests in the Pacific. In 2004, Greenpeace (now headquartered in the Netherlands) had a global membership of 2.8 million in 41 countries.
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