Not just not dead - but still inspiring ...

I get very irritated at the apparent need of many activists to worship heros. I don't understand how undemocratic oil man Chavez, say, can be misunderstood by so many as the new grand hope of the Left (though, yes, I'd rather have him than some US drone running Venezuela) ...

But the man on this picture, well, he is my hero and the hero of many I know. His name is Steve Sawyer. Steve has already done more for the planet than most of us can hope to achieve in a lifetime. And such diverse stuff too. He led the evacuation of Rongelap Islanders in 1985; he ensured Greenpeace documented climate change impacts in the Arctic when these were not yet Hollywood material; he played a vital role in getting Antarctica protected; I could go on ...

I met Steve in one of his most frustrating fights - the attempt to get global binding renewable energy targets to be agreed at the World Summit on Sustainable Development. That plan was foiled by Bush and his OPEC allies. But the boom of the renewables industry is happening all the same, and Steve will continue to drive it in his new role as wind energy chief on planet earth.

Last Friday in Amsterdam, a fascinating group of people came together to celebrate almost 30 years of Steve Sawyer at Greenpeace. What united us, I felt, was that we were all inspired by Steve in some way at some point. I, for one, would not have joined Greenpeace in 2004, if that had not meant having Steve as my boss. Seriously. And that even though Steve tells me, that in June 2002 I screamed at him: "I will never work with Greenpeace again". I certainly remember being angry, as things had not gone as planned at a joint NGO protest. But such are NGO friendships and alliances. Trust and respect are often built on the back of disagreements ...

So long may Steve live, sail, play guitar and whinge. And inspire.