The article in the url below highlights a growing trend among environmental activists who are frustrated that their largely peaceful protests to date have had next to no impact on the pace and scale of greenhouse gas emissions. In response, some are concluding that peaceful protests are ineffective, and are raising the stakes of their engagement:
"You walk out of your house on a sunny weekend morning, eager to drive your gasoline-powered sports utility vehicle to the local beach. You're about to turn on the engine and hit the road, when you notice a flier stuck underneath the windshield wiper. 'We have deflated one or more of your tires,' it reads. 'You'll be angry, but don't take it personally. It's not you, it's your car…'"
This direct action is being committed by a group that calls itself (not very imaginatively, I might add) Tyre Extinguishers (see https://twitter.com/T_Extinguishers):
"Since March, the group has deflated the tires of nearly 6,500 SUVs in Austria, Canada, France, Germany, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Sweden, the UK and the US. Their goal? Drawing attention to gas-guzzling vehicles' impact on climate change and air pollution. If SUVs were an individual country, they would have ranked sixth in the world for emissions last year, accounting for more than 900 million metric tons of CO₂."
And, apparently, they are not alone:
"As politicians dither on climate policy that matches what the science demands, some citizens are going beyond peaceful protests to make themselves heard. In July, activists with the group Just Stop Oil glued themselves to frames of paintings in art galleries in the UK, and breached the track on the first lap of the Formula 1 British Grand Prix. Also in July, the French group Derniere Renovation interrupted the Tour de France cycling race. Last year, the group Insulate Britain disrupted traffic across cities and highways in the UK."
Such groups are styling themselves on the activities (and successes) of Extinction Rebellion (https://rebellion.global/), which was founded in the UK in 2018 and has since inspired many others:
"These activist outfits are all building on tactics popularized by Extinction Rebellion (XR), which … now acts as an umbrella organization for a variety of global groups. In July, members of the group Doctors for XR broke glass at the London office of finance giant JP Morgan Chase & Co. In April, activists of Scientist Rebellion chained themselves to the doors of JP Morgan Chase's office in Los Angeles."
As for Tyre Extinguishers, expect them to come to a parking garage near you, shortly:
"Tyre Extinguishers say they currently have 50 groups worldwide, to whom they provide 'inspiration' on their website in the form of images to identify SUVs, a video on how to deflate tires and the 'It's your car' leaflet in 10 languages. The group's ultimate aim is 'to see bans on SUVs in urban areas, pollution levies to tax SUVs out of existence, and massive investment in free, comprehensive public transport,' it says. 'But until politicians make this a reality, Tyre Extinguishers action will continue.'"
The article in the second url below explains how this group has spread to New York City and also more about how they operate (see also, here, for a recent update on their progress):
"The Tyre Extinguishers, as they call themselves, furtively hand around bags of lentils ahead of their raid (the legumes are jammed into a tire valve to release its air slowly overnight) and size up their quarry. … One of the group kneels down, unscrews the tire valve cap, stuffs a lentil inside and puts the cap back on. The tire immediately lets out a startled 'pfft' noise, a leaflet is slapped on to the windshield and the group melts back into the night."
For a related example, see the article in the third url below, "written by youth activists involved in End Fossil: Occupy!" (https://endfossil.com/).
Take care
David
David Chandler
© Sage Publications, 2020
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As Politicians Dither on Climate, Activists 'Fight Back' by Deflating SUVs
By Akshat Rathi
July 26, 2022
Bloomberg Green
'Like a public shaming': A night with the eco-activists deflating SUV tires
By Oliver Milman
July 27, 2022
The Guardian
We're occupying schools across the world to protest climate inaction
By End Fossil: Occupy!
July 26, 2022
The Guardian
