The Greenpeace campaign against Shell in the 1990s was one of the most effective international actions by a non-profit in living memory...

The charity opposed the proposed dumping of the Brent Spar platform in the North Sea, causing Shell sales to plummet, forcing Shell to eventually back-down over its plans...

Will Greenpeace now succeed in its latest contest with the oil giant?

Greenpeace and its supporters want the Arctic to be made off limits for oil exploration. The campaign is to make the Arctic a legally protected sanctuary, creating a conservation zone around the North Pole that includes a ban on oil drilling and industrial fishing...

"The Arctic ice is melting, uncovering oil reserves laid bare because of climate change. This year, the first major oil company, Shell, plans to ignite the Arctic oil rush by drilling in those waters. All to feed humanity’s endless addiction to oil..." says Greenpeace's Ben Ayliffe...

Since the launch of the Greenpeace global campaign to protect the Arctic last month, the charity has already attracted over 1.2 million signatures for its appeal...

Greenpeace has pledged its commitment to make the Arctic a no go area for oil and is building up a long-term campaign...

The campaign is already underway with peaceful grass roots actions taking pace in France, New Zealand and the Netherlands, Germany, Argentina, Denmark, USA, Finland and elsewhere across the globe...

Part of its campaign also includes the launch of its Arctic Rising global networking community... Greenpeace is inviting Arctic supporters to join up as one of five collectives; either as Polar Bears, Narwhals, Arctic Foxes, Snowy Owls or Walruses...

Sir Paul McCartney has already signed up as a Walrus, naturally...

The charity has also launched its Arctic Rising activist toolkit where the organisation shares its successful campaigning secrets over the years with the hope of inspiring a new grass roots movement to become committed Arctic defenders...

The manifesto states: "Together we need to create a global outcry that tells governments and corporations that this greed exploiting the Arctic has to stop, and we will stop it..."

The gloves are off Greenpeace style, in an ethically responsible, peaceful and pro-environment and pro-humanity way of course...

Will the charity's appeal to unleash people power signal a return to the mass popular environmental campaigning of previous decades?