Lucy Lawless, Eco-Warrior

Actress Lucy Lawless and six Greenpeace activists have climbed an oil-drilling ship bound for the Arctic. The group is trying to prevent the ship, which is chartered by Shell oil company, from leaving port to drill five exploratory wells in the Arctic. The ship was due to leave port this weekend. From atop a 174-foot (53 meter) derrick aboard Shell Oil's Noble Discoverer in New Zealand's Port Taranaki. Lawless said she was taking direct protest action for the first time in her life to protest oil drilling and to draw attention to climate change. "I've got three kids. My sole biological reason for being on this planet is to ensure that they can flourish, and they can't do that in a filthy, degraded environment," she said. "We need to stand up while we still can." She's tweeting her protest. Follow along.

Today I’m taking direct action with GreenpeaceNZ in peaceful protest against Shell’s Arctic oil drilling  #savethearctic
— Lucy Lawless (@RealLucyLawless) February 23, 2012

UPDATE: Actress Lucy Lawless arrested in oil-ship protest.