In case you missed io9's post about the outrage, here's a recap: The environmental activists wanted to send a message to government officials from around with world who are attending a climate change conference in Lima this week. So they headed to the Nazca Desert, one of the most famous and archaeologically significant sites in Peru, to lay down a bunch of yellow banners that spelled out: "TIME FOR CHANGE! THE FUTURE IS RENEWABLE! GREENPEACE."
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| Greenpeace vandalism |
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!"
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| Hummingbird before Greenpeace |
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| Hummingbird after Greenpeace |
"[The drawings] are absolutely fragile. They are black rocks on a white background. You walk there and the footprint is going to last hundreds or thousands of years," Castillo said. "And the line that they have destroyed is the most visible and most recognized of all."
Greenpeace is sorry. Nevertheless, Peru is opening a criminal investigation and trying to keep the activists from leaving the country. The country says it will press charges of "attacking archaeological monuments" that are punishable by up to six years in prison. Greenpeace is really sorry.
Remember, if you donate to or otherwise support Greenpeace, you're supporting environmental vandals, like the Taliban when
they dynamited the Buddhas of Bamiyan. I hope they go to jail.
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