11 moments that broke the internet in 2015

As 2015 draws to a close, we reflect back on some of the people powered moments that pulled our heart strings, filled us with passion or simply inspired us.

Here are a few of them, from Greenpeace and beyond…

1. Imagine if we all did this just a few times a year

Tommy Klein cleaned up a heavily polluted waterfront on his way to work in a week of half hours. He filled up one garbage bag at a time until the work was done.

2. Can you help make your country next?

It caused a mini meltdown in England when it was introduced spawning countless hilarious tweets. But many countries and cities, including Hawaii, Rwanda, and Montreal, have started to ban plastic bags. Do you think your country could be next?

3. “The biggest environmental crime of the 21st century”

It’s been labelled so many names by news reports: from a “crime against humanity” to the “greatest environmental disaster this century”.

Indonesia’s forest fire crisis has affected several neighbouring countries, from Singapore to Thailand and as far away as the Philippines.

There have been 500,000 reported cases of acute respiratory tract infections since 1 July… and up to a third of the world’s orangutan habitat has been threatened with destruction.

Since 2007, Greenpeace Indonesia has been building dams in peatland canals to restore the dried-out wetlands and prevent future fires. 

4. I am his hands. He is my eyes

Jia Haixia and Jia Wenqi are two 53-year-old men from China who have faced incredible challenges in their lives. Haixia is blind and Wenqi lost both of his arms.

Together, the pair have managed to plant over 10,000 trees over the past 10 years.

5. This story broke our hearts, not just the internet

Captured in July 2012 at Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, park ranger Patrick Karabaranga was seen consoling a mountain gorilla whose mother was killed by poachers.

6. Because to change everything, we need everyone

The most beautiful thing about this movement is that different individuals are taking spontaneous action as they see fit.

This moment leads us to one of the biggest victories this year…

7. Goodbye Shell! The Arctic won’t miss you

In an extraordinary display of people power, Shell succumbed to global pressure and pulled out of Arctic drilling after spending more than US$6 billion over three years.

Give a big WHOOP! This moment is for the 7 million people worldwide who’ve stood in defence of the Arctic, the polar bears, the whales and the walruses.

8. I am woman. Hear me roar

From Sri Lanka to South Africa, women are on the front lines leading fight in the poaching wars.

9. Demanding justice

In November 2015, two mining dams collapsed in Mariana, in Minas Gerais state, Brazil. This environmental disaster is the one of the worst in Brazil’s history.

River Doce, the largest in the southeast region, is at risk of death. Thousands homes are destroyed and lives were lost.

Greenpeace aims to expose the disaster’s impact on the environment and demand justice!

10. Leaving nature to do what it does best

An abandoned fishing village in Shengshi was reclaimed by nature and the result is stunning.

11. It’s only the beginning, not the finish line…

As the final details of the Paris climate agreement were being hashed out, Greenpeace France activists used eco-paint to create a shining sun around the Arc de Triomphe.

It always seems impossible until it’s done and we’re not done yet. We, the people, have the power to change the world!

Join the movement here.

Stefanus Wongsodiredjo is a Content Editor at the Asia Pacific Communications Hub.