F1 video that petroleum giant Shell does not want us to watch

In the recently concluded Belgian Grand Prix, Greenpeace activists made headlines by placing banners in front of the podium with the sign “savethearctic.org“. While the video itself is going viral, Shell has gone on the offensive and has taken it down from YouTube. But we managed to get a hold of the video, and you can see it here. Keep sharing this with your friends and on online forums so that the message can be spread across.

Notice the logo that Greenpeace came up with for this particular occasion. Half the logo is the image of a polar bear while the other half is Shell’s symbol with a devil’s horn where the bear’s left ear would have been. The organisers, on being notified about the banner, took it down as quickly as they could.

But what is savethearctic.org all about and why are they taking the fight to Shell? Here’s the back story:

Petroleum giant Shell has been drilling the Arctic Ocean for oil, and this has not gone down well with environmentalists, who claimed that it is affecting the environment as it would melt the ice and increase global warming, as well as affecting the fauna. With the Belgian GP being sponsored by Shell, environmental activist group Greenpeace decided to put on a demonstration to get the attention of the general public.

They created a website called savethearctic.org where people can sign a petition asking the drilling to be stopped and that the Arctic Ocean be declared a sanctuary so that no further destruction takes place.

While a general demonstration may not have got enough eye balls, Greenpeace came up with an innovative way to get their point across. While the race was taking place, and maximum eyes were on the action, on the track as well as millions of viewers on the television, Greenpeace unfurled a banner on top of the Grand Stands. Here is a picture of the banner:

But that was not the end of the campaign for Greenpeace. A few weeks before the Belgian GP was scheduled to take place, activists had managed to sneak into the circuit and attached two remote controlled banners near the podium. And just as all 3 racers were on the podium and the national anthems were being played, Greenpeace activated the banners. The timing was perfect too, with all eyes focused on the podium.

More than three and a half million have signed the petition. You can join too, by going to savethearctic.org