Greenpeace takes a break from issuing reports to vandalize HP corporate HQ
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted July 29th 2009 1:59PM
posted July 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]
"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 thanx to local reporting that reached CNnet and then, omg, Engadget! everyone else knows. Hence, their stunt worked beautifully.
And please to a little fact checking, like taking note that the two photos you included were taken BY Greenpeace themselves.
Snarkiness requires an intelligent comment. That statement just makes you look like an ass.
@CraigJ:
"during earth hour I turned on every light in my house, cranked up the AC and opened the windows."
YEAH! That's the way to show them! ...whoever ..."they" ...are.
Oh, wait. Never mind. That's the way to prove that you're just as neurotic as these Greenpeace folk, even if it's in the opposite direction. Way to show us how to keep a cool head.
Keep it up, champ-o.
Your posting skills rock.
This is funny. I think its great that GP found a way to get in and up on the roof to get a message they wanted up there. Its not going to stop me from buying a HP product. I already assumed the were big polluters anyway.
On a side note, if your neighbor is a sex offender or some other slimeball you can always write that on their front lawn in the middle of the night with Round-Up, plus it gives you an excuse to dress up in a ninja outfit. Better yet, just prank yourself and write moron or tree-hater on your own front lawn.
Wow, reading these comments i realize how fucked we are. Keep buying your polluting crap gadgets and rot in PVC hell.
http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/doczone/2008/disappearingmale/
Watch the documentary the disappearing male, you will realize that your attitude toward polution will cause your kids to have small girly dicks
If Sega snuck into a US military base and got on the roof and painted "All your base are belong to us" up there and put a little Sega banner the responses here would be a lot different. It would be laughter, or praise, or WTF how did they do THAT!
If Apple got onto Microsofts roof, or vice versa and painted their logo it would have been insanely hilarious.
Instead of those reactions Greenpeace is called terrorists? They went on a roof to put a message on it you idiots. It was a planned event to get media attention to something they wanted to get it on. It worked. The end. Its what they have been doing for almost 40 years. They find something and get the media attention on it.
The Greenpeace organization does more helpful things in a day then most here will do in a year. Hippie or not.
Greenpeace has been striving for relevance for years, their latest action show that they're are just a bunch childish pricks and have nothing of substance to do. Why don't they go throw themselves in front of big rig and be done with it. You know you will never satisfy these losers companies should stop trying.
I wonder how long it took them to notice that was up there but then again those frying hippies probably got caught because that would take hella days to complete.
This is pretty selective reporting. You managed to report on the graffiti, but ignored the other stunt from Greenpeace - recording a message from William Shatner on every voicemail in the HQ.
Maybe because that part was actually quite amusing and you wanted to show Greenpeace in the most negative way possible?
Great work Mr. Flatley.
Yeah. My opinion of Gizmodo readers has been lowered near the floor with all these negative, hostile, and violent responses. Why can intelligent people not see that this "vandalism" is really a project to for safe labeling? The public should know that the largest PC maker has gone back on their promise to remove the toxic chemicals (BFRs and PVCs) from their products. They go directly to the poorest and weakest people on the planet who do not have the ability to speak up for themselves. It is a scandal that the richest companies in the world can pollute the Earth and, worse, poison women and children for higher profits.
They must do better. We mush do better. I applaud Greenpeace for leading the way.
Isnt that the easiest way to get sued by hp?
should have taken the opportunity to dicktop as well
also its been shown that white roofs help with polution reduction by lowering ac costs and things like that . Even though its very little isnt this awfully hypocritical of greenpeace ?
The black paint they used to do this makes parts of the white roof black .
The reason Greenpeace resorts to this sort of thing is because they have good intentions, but their organization has no real authority. I suppose they are sort of guerilla activists. I respect what they are trying to do though. The real solution however would be governments that actually gave a shit about the environment, who do have authority. The problem is in money vs. the environment you always know what's going to win. Especially when it's up to corporate execs and greedy politicians. I doubt anything is going to change until these people start having to drink brown water in their mansions and acid rain starts eating away at their Bentleys. I mean that would be just plain unacceptable, right? By the time that comes we'll need gas masks to breathe safely though.
I respect them for what they try to do to bring companies to using environmentally friendly materials, but when they act like PETA the respect meter starts to dip into the negative.
gotta lov Hippocrates this is the same group saying "get rid of toxic chemicals" and then saying "put mercury in every light socket"
Most people aren't smart enough to realize that though. It's great that compact flourescents save a ton of energy. I've replaced all of the incandescents in my apartment with them. However, I make sure I get them to a recycling center when they die. What do most people do? Throw them in the garbage. So basically we're trading energy and fossil savings for more toxic materials in air, ground, and water.
Anybody know if Google map's satellites are making a pass anytime soon. Think it likely that they had a tip from someone in Google? If they timed it right, the imagery could be updated and it would be stuck that way for a while (18 months isn't it?)
Can't HP just sue them for vandalism?
"what the organization does best: chasing down whaling vessels, trespassing, hanging banners, and generally bedeviling polluters in the name of Mother Earth."
To translate into what it would be called if anyone else in the known universe did it (or God forbid, somebody did it to greerpeace):
Breaking the law.
These freaks have been given a free pass for years now. If you do something they don't like, they are allowed to commit crimes against you, and it's all OK because they like puppies or something. Lock them all up, and if they don't just burn down your local greenpeace office. Really, it's OK as long as you don't like them.
LOLOLOL
@everyone
y'all been trolled by "me"
Ummyeh. So they did that, then decided to take the photo from a low-flying plane. Can we do anything but laugh? Seriously...
They should have used white paint, to keep the SRI high; instead, they've got black paint with a low albedo. Not too smart.
Wonder why they didn't go for Nintendo...
greenpeaceofshit
Its cool to be anti environment, like its cool to piss in your own breakfast bowl.
you have to try hard to be that dumb.
hahaha - they splet it wrnog!
HP should turn this around and create positive publicity by planting a green roof on this building.
Greenpeace - put them on the list of organizations I'll never support or no longer have a neutral opinion of.
Great stunt - too bad you didn't jump to get down
This just makes me want to purchase an HP
Frak Greenpeace. Their misguided activism has scared my home country's farmers from adopting GMO crops, and thereby keeping crop yields low and food prices high (Imagine using rad suits to get rid of GMO crops?). They have a serious case of the Dunning Kruger Effect in their ranks.
you really are ill informed about gmo ... nothing unusual in that
HP promptly penned off a letter of protest to GreenPeace.
It arrived sealed in an envelope, sealed in a courier pack, sealed in a box, wrapped in bubble wrap, sealed in a larger box, wrapped in 4 layers of plastic wrap, and tied to a palette for good measure.
God Bless Greenpeace. It's encouraging to see people actually saying something. Most people are all talk and no action. Or even worse, their apathy infects the general population and creates another generation of mindless consumers content with being overweight and undereducated. Im not sure what's worse? The lingering ecological effects of PVC's or the rapid deterioration of human consciousness. Vandalism with intent should be held in the highest regard!
geez people - please go after the i'm-too-poor-on-food-stamps-and-don't-work folks driving the 10-15+ year old cars that pollute 20-50 times what a current model does. or maybe shame someone for driving a house-sized suv/pickup because i-don't-give-a-crap-about-anyone's-safety-but-my-self.
if you pick a battle that really matters to the majority of life and don't pick on companies trying to keep your friends employed... you might actually make a positive difference in our world.
Just one question: will HP sue the greenpeace for grafitting their roof? :oD