Stephen Tindale (29 March 1963 – 1 July 2017) was a British environmentalist who was the executive director of
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...
in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
from 2000 to 2005. He was director of
The Alvin Weinberg Foundation
The Alvin Weinberg Foundation was a registered UK charity, operating under the name Weinberg Next Nuclear, that campaigned for research and development into next-generation nuclear energy. In particular, it advocated advancement of Liquid Fluor ...
, co-founder of the organisation ''Climate Answers'', associate fellow at the Centre for European Reform and co-author of ''Repowering Communities'' with Prashant Vaze.
Career
Tindale was noted for his recent change of heart on the issue of
nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...
, which went counter to his stance while at Greenpeace UK. Along with three other persons who have been involved with the environmental movement,
Chris Smith,
Mark Lynas
Mark Lynas (born 1973) is a British author and journalist whose work is focused on environmentalism and climate change. He is a contributor to ''New Statesman'', ''The Ecologist'', ''Granta ''and ''Geographical ''magazines, and ''The Guardian'' ...
and
Chris Goodall
Christopher Frank William Goodall (born 29 December 1955) is an English businessman, author and expert on new energy technologies. He is an alumnus of St Dunstan's College, University of Cambridge, and Harvard Business School (MBA).
Biography ...
, he considered that the need to overcome the dangers of rising
carbon emissions
Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and larg ...
and subsequent
global warming
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
requires a rethinking of anti-nuclear positions amongst the
environmental movement
The environmental movement (sometimes referred to as the ecology movement), also including conservation and green politics, is a diverse philosophical, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues. Environmentalists a ...
. In addition to current nuclear technology, Tindale supported the
research and development
Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...
of the
thorium fuel cycle
The thorium fuel cycle is a nuclear fuel cycle that uses an isotope of thorium, , as the fertile material. In the reactor, is transmuted into the fissile artificial uranium isotope which is the nuclear fuel. Unlike natural uranium, natural tho ...
in
molten salt reactors to reduce
nuclear waste output and increase safety.
On leaving Greenpeace Tindale also endorsed
Genetically Modified (GM) foods.
Greenpeace remains opposed to GM.
His other past roles included senior research fellow on environment and energy at the
Institute for Public Policy Research.
References
External links
Greenpeace UKStephen Tindale's blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tindale, Stephen
1963 births
2017 deaths
British environmentalists
People associated with Greenpeace