Posted on 12/14/2014 2:53:31 PM PST by jazusamo
The environmental activist group Greenpeace has apologized after damaging the Nazca Lines, an ancient Peruvian site. The group placed a series of yellow banners very close to the hummingbird geoglyph spelling out a message calling for environmental awareness. In doing so, the members of the group trespassed on the area and disturbed the otherwise-pristine grounds around the lines with a series of footprints.
The area around the Nazca Lines is so protected that even the president of Peru cannot walk around there without express permission, and those who are permitted to enter the site have to wear specialized footwear to avoid damaging the ground. Greenpeace's activists, ironically, took no special effort to minimize their damage to the area
From Gizmodo:
The message is practically on top of the hummingbird geoglyph, which is now surrounded by their footprints. And the irony is thick. The future may be renewable, but these fragile, ancient drawings are not.
"This has been done without any respect for our laws," Peru's deputy minister for culture Luis Jaime Castillo told the press, calling Greenpeace's actions "thoughtless, insensitive, illegal, irresponsible and absolutely pre-meditated." He explained further: "It was done in the middle of the night. They went ahead and stepped on our hummingbird, and looking at the pictures we can see there's very severe damage. Nobody can go on these lines without permission—not even the president of Peru!"
Greenpeace issued an apology on Friday, but the Peruvian government is now looking to press criminal charges against the group.
"The decision to engage in this activity shows a complete disregard for the culture of Peru and the importance of protecting sacred sites everywhere," Greenpeace U.S. Executive Director Annie Leonard said in a statement on the group's website Friday. "There is no apology sufficient enough to make up for this serious lack of judgment."
Obviously, this is unacceptable. There are appropriate venues to protest or to project a desire for environmental policy change. The Nazca Lines, clearly, are not an appropriate venue. The Peruvian government is right to be upset about Greenpeace's actions, and I hope this forces the group to take a smarter approach to protesting in the future.
Video at link
What irony? It is what Greenpeace always does - destroys the property, creations and activities of others to further their agenda.
Just this time, it was so obvious that the mainstream media couldn’t just ignore it.
From what I’ve read, it seams these a$$hats truly did not know the harm they were causing. Lol, I love it when uber educated liberals step on thier own you-know-whats!
Of course they knew what they were doing. Otherwise, why choose THAT site?
This disgusts me more than I can tell you.
A national landmark thousands of years in the making, destroyed in minutes by a bunch of fools dumber than anyone else in thousands of years.
It’s high time people on the left quit concerning themselves with people who honor the U. S. Constitution, and start getting mental health services for people who identify with them.
How could that be? They know everything! Just ask them.
Because they knew it would garner global recognition.
What’s the old saying, “Good or bad it doesn’t matter. Just make sure they spell your name right!”
Amen to that...A national landmark known worldwide.
Are balloon rides offered there? Small charter flights?
Sad to see it exploited..
I bet one of them attended Haaaaaaaavad on a trust fund set up by his white grandfather. Oh the patriarchy!
Ping for your consideration.
It was made by man. They don’t give a damn
What do you expect from a bunch of ultra-lefty White people? They looked at the Peruvians as they all people of color in America. They just assumed they were too stupid for their own good and that they, Greenpeace, needed to bless them with their wisdom and presence. Ah, there is justice sometimes in this world when it comes to the left and their stupidity.
We’re in your face, in your lives, in your wallet—and we don’t give a damn. Love, “green” “peace”
Greenpeace is a terrorist organization, not as extreme as ELF or ALF.
Of course that is like being a little bit pregnant.
NOT a bad idea.
Absolutely.
Who were they Cpt Cocoa Puffs and his loser crew?
They’d fit right in!
a$$hats
Amen to that. :o)
No irony I can see.
The Nazca drawings are human activities that damaged the natural environment. If they were completely destroyed the natural environment would be restored.
Surely that's a good thing by the enviro creed.
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