Issue and Opponent: The “Don’t Make a Wave” committee was created in Vancouver, Canada in opposition to American nuclear testing at the National Wildlife Refuge in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska.
Dilemma Action: In the fall of 1971, the “Don’t Make a Wave” committee sailed their ships “Greenpeace” and “Greenpeace Too!” near the nuclear testing site to prevent the nuclear test from occurring. In response, the United States Atomic Energy Commission moved their test 1 day earlier than scheduled, thus conducting the test anyways.
Outcome: The committee was unable to prevent a test from occurring, however, the widespread criticism received by the United States decided not to continue testing their nuclear weapons at the wildlife refuge. Furthermore, the committee was formalized and changed its name to “Greenpeace Foundation,” one of the most prominent environmental advocacy groups in the modern era. The Don’t Make a Wave committee became Greenpeace in 1972 where they continued their environmental advocacy campaign.