YES: Shell Ditched As Sponsor Of Wildlife Photographer of the Year

It's rainy and grey this winter in Berlin. Not at all like it should be, which is dry and really cold. The weather feels more like a November in Edinburgh right now. Which is why I was reminded of the many afternoons spent outside Shell petrol stations in Edinburgh back in 1995 when I heard the good news that Shell has been dropped as the main sponsor of the Wildlife Photography competition at the Natural History Museum in London. The campaign that made that happen is small but creative. It's the gang of Art Not Oil that has been hammering home the point that a main contributor to climate change and destroyer of biodiversity may not be the ideal sponsor for a competition celebrating the beauty and diversity of natural life. I certainly wish we had as many creative types around back in 1995 when we were protesting Shell's involvement in the murder of Ken Saro-Wiwa out on the wet streets of Scotland's capital. Then it was just plackards and leaflets. And one memorable moment when a woman passed by and said. "I love what you guys are doing. I work for Exxon." Lets hope Exxon will not replace Shell at the Natural History Museum. Let's hope, say, a renewable energy giant such as Vestas seizes this opportunity. They should offer to sponsor the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. By doing so, they should make it clear to all that only if we fight climate change now, will we be able to stop the accelerating destruction of wildlife biodiversity. Meanwhile, heartened by this campaign success, I am off back into the rainy streets of Berlin ...
P.S. Picture from George Osodi.