Greenpeace takes a break from issuing reports to vandalize HP corporate HQ
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted Jul 29th 2009 1:59PM
posted Jul 29th 2009 1:59PM
As readers of this site know, Greenpeace has quite an active sideline in rating (and berating) technology companies that generate excessive toxic landfill. In fact, we've seen so many of these reports that we almost forgot what the organization does best: chasing down whaling vessels, trespassing, hanging banners, and generally bedeviling polluters in the name of Mother Earth. And now, after repeatedly calling out HP for using PVC and hazardous chemicals in its devices, the group has taken matters into its own hands -- specifically, by slipping into the company's Palo Alto headquarters and painting "hazardous products" on the roof, in really big letters, with non-toxic children's paint. Congratulations to the activist group for finally finding a way to spread their message to low-flying pilots in the San Francisco Bay area! One more pic after the break.
[Via Switched]
[Via Switched]
lol. Hippies.
Next PETA to throw red paint on Steve Jobs for overusing exotic cat names.
Does Greenpeace knows that HP is probably going to over paint their letters with toxic fuming paint? In the end they always lose.
@Techie, the paint can just be power-washed off.
Power-washing emits harmful mist and kills pretty butterflies!!!
i somehow have the feeling that ppl are actually proud to be anti environmental
think about when was the last time that you did something for our earth
take the bus, ride the bike, not buy a new printer bc the old one seems to work anyway.
you are not cool with your attitude. not at all. you dont have to be a "hippie" in order to take care of the environment, and use the media to spread the word. thats what greenpeace did, and i congratulate them on that. you dont have to justify your (environmental) behaviour towars anyone, but when your kids are going to walk up to you (unless they learned that god did this to us - lol @ creationism) and will ask you, if you were the generation that messed up the world as it will be in 2030 - then in addition, youre not gonna be cool in front of a 4 year old.
poor you, in that situation.
think about it.
I for one dump oil in my neighbors lake to cancel out the good he is doing by driving a Prius.
Leave paul chapel up on the roof.
@me
Excuse me for being too kewl. And guess what? My kids won't care about the Earth either, cause we'll be fricken cyborgs on Mars by 2030.
@me - We do our bit by re using bags at the supermarket, turning off lights, putting tins and glass in Kerb-it boxes(or countries equivalent)
We don't do our bit by breaking into companies n vandalizing their buildings to prove a point. Especially when the paint will wash off into ground and do no good for the local plants, the irony (Non-toxic only applies to humans eating it)
@ JJ:
Way to bring Paul Chapel into the mix. ???
You tools are always complaining about the presence of Paul Chapel, yet you can't stop talking about Paul Chapel - even when there is no Paul Chapel.
Brilliant.
Its classic! At least they are doing something new.
HP is a target because of its convenience to imply its spot-on acronyms.
What can you get with lenovo, compaq, dell, toshiba, acer, asus, etc?
Besides if they dare do this to lenovo in China, they will be branded counter-revolutionary and will be imprisoned and executed by a firing squad,
@me
whatever. Speaking for myself, I do my part. I recycle, I try not to waste electricity, I try not to waste fuel.
But when I get an e-mail that says "please consider the environment when printing this e-mail" I print it and promptly shred it, and during earth hour I turned on every light in my house, cranked up the AC and opened the windows.
I'm all for being environmentally conscious, but you people and your smug, self righteous messaging, your stupid symbolic acts that don't do shit, and your pseudo-eco-terror like the above, can kiss my fat white ass.
I'm just guessing, but I'll bet you used an internal combustion engine or 2 to get to HP's headquarters?
If you got there by horse, the banner is made from hemp, then maybe I'll cut you some slack
I would probably be more environmentally friendly if hippies didn’t make it look so radically lame.
(Goes back to clubbing seals and reapplying hair spray.)
Are you guys seriously comparing a few feet of spray paint to the millions of tons HP ships?
wow.
@CraigJ
I love you.
@me (the pseudonym)
You're using a computer, and I'll assume that it's not your first time either. How many computers have you owned in your life time the components in computers are harmful to the environment!! How many cars? They are killing the ozone!!! How many times have you printed out a term paper, or purchased a new ink/toner/dye cartridge rather than figuring out some way to reuse your spent ink/toner/dye? You are hurting Mother Earth and making Baby Jesus cry!!!
I'm being overly-dramatic, obviously, but the point is this:
HP is one of the more environmentally friendly companies in the computing space, it isn't their fault that no one wants to dispose of unwanted laptops/desktops/servers/monitors/etc. properly. If you want to get pissed at someone, get pissed at yourself and off your high horse, Greenpeace.
it looks like they corrected their spelling from "poducts" to "products". lol.
Further proof that the only difference between enviroNazis and al Qaeda is that the econuts lack explosives.
@ME
The reason there are people who hate environmentalists and what they stand for is much like PETA with its stupid fussing over the president killing a fly, Environmentalists are in our face 24/7. Saving the environment is good, and my 7 year old thanks you for your efforts, but can I go one effing day without hearing how Cow Farts are causing global warming because we raise too many of them? Please just one frigging day.
I am going to go buy a new Hummer now...
@Me
I was raised by a liberal democrat mom and conservative republican dad who both taught me the 'tread lightly' approach to living on earth- pack-it-in,pack-it-out, if I am someplace, the next person to be there should not be aware that I was there. My actions on this planet should not affect anyone else. They called it personal responsibility
As far as the hippie comment, most greenpeacers I've ever met, were a bunch of pot smoking, homeless,long-haired, neo-hippies, hell bent on lambasting our government, corporations, and me for not sharing their 'vision' of how the world should be. I'm a bad guy because I drive a car, eat meat, live in a house with electricity.........the list goes on.
I agree with greenpeace that citizens of Earth need to be aware of environmentally reprehensible actions by large corporations, I just feel their are better approaches to it then clever marketing stunts.
And that is why I will never share my weed with a greenpeacer.
Leave Quix up on the roof.
@samzebian
Image is extremely important to businesses. F it up and they are dead.
Greenpeace, soylent green...same thing, yum yum.
@me: "think about it."
I've thought about it some more and come to the conclusion that you are a liberal hippy douche bag. It's times like this when I wish Cartman was a real person and I could give him your address.
I need a shirt that says "For every cubic foot of air you conserve I pollute three"
Engadget forgot to add burning down entire dealerships that cause more CO2 pollution than the cars themselves. Greenpeace is nothing more than a overzealous left wing fascist group. A totally new religion out of hand!!!
This thread is providing me with a good count of @$$#ole posters at Engadget. Here's the main point: Greenpeace is taking obvious risks to bring more information to the public. If they make a press release about HP's use of toxic chemicals, you don't comment on it, or even read about it. No one covers it. If they mess with corporate images in this way, then you start talking. I would say thinking, but there's little of that going on in this thread.
Ironically, for many years I had old machines laying around, preventing them from disposed in the wrong way. It wasn't until a few years back, I got around to getting them all recycled. The oldest machine was a 286!
I for one try my best to harm the environment, environmentalists and animal rights fuckheads are the gayest type of people
Uhhhh....huh huh... He said Cow Farts...
^ Dude above me. You lost all credibility when you stated you drive a smart car. Ill try not to run you over when I go on a 20 mile burger run tonight. Good day
Greenpeace got their message out: HP is backing down from their commitment to PVC-free products. To all the fear-mongering posters labeling this "terrorism", since when has "tagging" a building been terrorism? It's an act of vandalism. They can blow up a building tomorrow, but that doesn't make this act any more terrorist. You're such sheep to blindly stereotype and label as you do. And to all the posters that feel such a stunt deserves an opposite response, like burning more gas or throwing away more paper... what a waste of time, energy, and money.
People posted that Greenpeace should be looking for a solution to the problem instead of just criticizing it, well, what are you doing? For every person here that is complaining about the methods of Greenpeace (which for the most part I also don't agree with) why don't you attempt to be part of a solution. Even if you don't agree with the direction of the environmental movement, your complaining about it from your desk is going to affect the directional change you want. You can't possibly think that corporations have our best environmental interests at heart or that the system of electronics production we have in place now is even remotely sustainable.
So instead of letting "hippies" steer, why don't you do something for about it. As for myself, on top of all the regular responsibilities I have as a husband, father, and business owner (I own and operate a bakery/cafe), I help lead an organization that aims to help inform businesses about cheap and practical ways they can reduce energy costs and reduce waste as it applies to their business(my specialty is food service). What I don't do is waste my time escaping from the world in the form of television or video games and then upon re-emerging back to reality, complain because others are trying to affect change that needs to happen, in the wrong way.
@ Ghexx88
HP - Hates Plants
HP - Highly Polutant
HP - Horny Pedophiles
God you are so right.
That's awesome, although I do love HP.
Doesn't Greenpeace fund ELF?
@Gabe
The ELF too? Wow.
I have no idea why, but for the longest time, I actually had a high opinion of Greenpeace. Apparently, I've been wrong all this time. It seems they're sort of like a PETA-like organization, except based on the environment instead of animals. Oh lord.
No, Greenpeace doesn't have anything to do with ELF. It took me 5 seconds of searching to figure that out.
Not only that, but HP also has drainage issues in the parking lot!
"Congratulations to the activist group for finally finding a way to spread their message to low-flying pilots in the San Francisco Bay area!"
And now everyone who reads this blog - see, they ain't so dumb.
Possibly a smaller group than the low-flying pilots.
Wonder how they got in... that place is like a dungeon protected by an impenetrable wall of perfectly groomed hedges
Yeah, I bet it's hard climbing a ladder in sandals....
I think they should take their message to China and see how they get treated.
In retaliation I will poor 3 gallons of gasoline in my backyard, light 10lbs of Styrofoam on fire AND not recycle any of my plastics. I hate Greenpeace almost as much as I hate PETA (which is why I go hunting)
I'll really love to see the day when Greenpeace is disbanded and their members busted for terrorism, trepassing, vandalism - the list goes on.
Shut the $%#@ up up down down left right left right B A Start Select!
i was gonna say. HP should sue greenpeace for trespassing, vandalism, and brand destruction. also why hasn't Greenpeace bugged those door/window companies which sell PVC windows and doors? i think they use quite a bit of PVC
Yeah why don't they go after the Blue Man Group, too? They use lots of PVC.
Don't forget that they probably drove in toxic cars using toxic gasoline, and probably issued some more releases on their computers with toxic chemicals on them, powered by electricity generated by toxic means, in a building with toxic chemicals or objects made with toxic processes.
Doors and windows last decades whereas computers last about 5 years, if you're lucky. E-waste problem > door and window waste problem.