Greenpeace apologises to people of Peru over Nazca lines stunt

The Guardian ^ | 12/12/14 | Dan Collyns

[Impala64ssa]

Culture ministry says it will press charges against activists for damage to world heritage site as UN climate talks began in Lima

Greenpeace has apologised to the people of Peru after the government accused the environmentalists of damaging ancient earth markings in the country’s coastal desert by leaving footprints in the ground during a publicity stunt meant to send a message to the UN climate talks delegates in Lima.

A spokesman for Greenpeace said: “Without reservation Greenpeace apologises to the people of Peru for the offence caused by our recent activity laying a message of hope at the site of the historic Nazca lines. We are deeply sorry for this.

“Rather than relay an urgent message of hope and possibility to the leaders gathering at the Lima UN climate talks, we came across as careless and crass.”

Earlier Peru’s vice-minister for culture Luis Jaime Castillo had accused Greenpeace of “extreme environmentalism” and ignoring what the Peruvian people “consider to be sacred” after the protest at the world renowned Nazca lines, a Unesco world heritage site.

He said the government was seeking to prevent those responsible from leaving the country while it asked prosecutors to file charges of attacking archaeological monuments, a crime punishable by up to six years in prison.

[LibWhacker]

Make them clean up the site — with their tongues. That’s right, clean up all the paint with their tongues and replace every pebble to its original position with their tongues. THEN send them to jail for six years. Arrogant b***ards.

[lavaroise]

Well, they did use Obama’s international socialist rhetoric of Change

[NY.SS-Bar9]

greenpeaces-nazca-lines-stunt

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[MD Expat in PA]

They damaged the area merely by walking on it. The area is in a high desert that gets very little rain and I think if not mistaken, not even much wind. There is a very thin layer of dark crust covering a much lighter colored ground (sand?) underneath. That is how the people who created the lines created them, sort of like etching. Walking around on the fragile surface exposes the lighter material, leaving behind footprints or scuff marks that can last hundreds of years. It is not something easily fixed or restored. They were also trespassing as Peru restricts access to the area only granting permission to scientists/archeologists in very rare cases and I think even then they have to wear special shoes and take other precautions as not to damage the fragile surface surrounding the lines.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/12/141212-nazca-lines-greenpeace-archaeology-science/

Careful removal of the dark varnished crust from the lighter-colored desert floor created the lines, called geoglyphs, made more than 1,500 years ago by ancient Andean people. Native Americans as far north as California used a similar method for creating desert drawings, most famously the Blythe "Intaglios," depicting large human figures.

Desert varnishes form very slowly, in some cases over tens of thousands of years. How these coatings, only about as thick as a sheet of paper, grow on desert rocks is poorly understood, according to Joseph McAuliffe of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. Bacteria baking in the desert sun may actually concentrate darker minerals on exposed rock surfaces, he suggests, with the varnish essentially serving as a microbial sunscreen.

The Greenpeace activists drew Peru's ire as much for potential damage done to this delicate desert surface as for trespassing. The lines "are absolutely fragile," Peru's Deputy Culture Minister Luis Jaime Castillo told the Guardian: "You walk there and the footprint is going to last hundreds or thousands of years."

That’s right, clean up all the paint with their tongues and replace every pebble to its original position with their tongues

At least they didn’t use paint but what looks like vinyl cut out letters (and does anyone else see the irony in that?)

[Yardstick]

His apology is totally opportunistic. I wonder if he’s just making the best of a bad situation or if it’s all part of the plan. I lean towards the latter. It’s hard to imagine that an operation like this didn’t get approval from the top dogs. And it’s hard to imagine that they didn’t expect the kind of response they’re getting. If they didn’t, then they really are a bunch of doofi. The question then would be, were they tripped up more by their arrogance or their stupidity?

[Sherman Logan]

The Inca were comparatively mild in the atrocity line, at least for religious purposes. Or at least the volume of human sacrifice was comparatively low.

A better analogy would be the Moche, an earlier people.

[Bon mots]

Have them arrested and sent to prison in Peru. Require them to pay massive fines as well. Extradite these criminals.

[driftdiver]

Ironic they did this in peru. Ho.e of the Inca who worshipped the sun.

[Bon mots]

In a statement Greenpeace said it was concerned that it could have caused “moral offence to the Peruvian people”.

"Moral Offence"?
Greenpeace is trying to spin this.
The government of Peru considers it a CRIMINAL OFFENCE punishable by 6 years in a Peruvian prison.

They want to prevent these vandals from leaving the country and I hope they do.

[Sooth2222]

Almost as bad as the Taliban destroying the ancient Buddhist statues. Just a (slightly) different religion.

[fivecatsandadog]

Greenpeace: Save the Arctic. Stop global warming. Protect the oceans and forests. No new nukes. Live toxic free. Promote sustainable agriculture. Contribute to the deterioration and damage of archaeological sites.

Dumb asses.

[Caipirabob]

This area was primarily inhabited by the Andean peoples. A fascinating Neolithic society that gave birth to the Inca, Muisca and yes, the Nazca cultures. They developed some very ingenious ways to solve infrastructure problems without the use of modern technology. And their women...I love seeing the genetic traits reflected in my wife and daughters faces. Beautiful...

[eyeamok]

I looked and read, but nowhere does it say they are checking the emails, texts, and phone calls between these terrorists and members of the Conference on Global Warming. I guarantee you there is collusion between some of the parties involved, most likely Al Gore.
Nobody should be allowed to leave until they investigate this aspect.

[Mercat]

Mr. Mercat and I have been there. The desert in Peru is very strange and fragile. It never rains there but it’s always foggy. The few plants live by pulling moisture from the air. The surface in Nazca has been undisturbed except for the lines forever. The lines are simply where the ancients “scarred” the ground. It could not have survived in any other place on earth.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

Gruber should be their spokesman.

[rrrod]

Those a$$wipes will be lucky to get out of Peru alive....

[BlackAdderess]

Al-Qaeda desecrated archeological sites, and with concerns about eco-terrorism I have to wonder about thought processes that would determine this as a course of action worthy of being undertaken. Sure, I can see this sort of idea occurring after a long, strange, and boozy night; but dawn should have brought with it some common sense. This is just wrong on many levels.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

The Incans (modern Peru) probably knew nothing about the Aztecs (modern Mexico City). But the Incans practiced human sacrifice, too, which seems appropriate for these idiots. Sacrifice them on the Altar of Gaia!

[moovova]

Green Peace apologized...so it’s OK!

Arrogant a++wipes.

[bert]

Lekson’s rules.....

Everybody knew everything
Distance was not a problem
There is no coincidence