Explained: Why climate activists deflated tyres of 900 cars across eight nations

Climate activists seem to have invented a new way to protest – by deflating tyres. The aptly-named Tyre Extinguishers have claimed they deflated tyres of 900 cars across eight countries. The group in a statement called it “the biggest coordinated global action against high-carbon vehicles in history, with many more to come.” But who are the Tyre Extinguishers? And why are they doing this? Let’s take a closer look: Who are they? Why are they doing this? According to their website, the Tyre Extinguishers describe themselves as “people from all walks of life with one aim – To make it impossible to own a huge polluting 4x4 in the world’s urban areas.” The group says it is defending itself against climate change, air pollution and unsafe drivers. As per Tech Times, an International Energy Agency 2019 study claimed SUVs are the second largest cause of the rising carbon dioxide emissions. As per the website, the group resorted to this tactic simply to cause the vehicle owners inconvenience. “Deflating tyres repeatedly and encouraging others to do the same will turn the minor inconvenience of a flat tyre into a giant obstacle for driving massive killer vehicles around our streets,” the group states on their website. They say they have resorted to this action after government and politicians have “failed to protect” the from large vehicles.

“Everyone hates them, apart from the people who drive them,” the group further states.

“We want to live in towns and cities with clean air and safe streets. Politely asking and protesting for these things has failed. It’s time for action. Join us. We have no leader - anyone can take part, wherever you are, using the simple instructions on this website,” the group urges. The group’s website also lists instructions on how to spot an SUV and how to deflate an SUV tyre. So what happened? As per The Guardian, groups took action in Amsterdam and Enschede in the Netherlands, Paris and Lyon in France, Berlin, Bonn, Essen, Hanover and Saarbrücken in Germany, Bristol, Leeds, London and Dundee in the UK, Malmö in Sweden, Innsbruck in Austria, Zurich and Winterthur in Switzerland, and New York in the US all deflated tyres. Activists said over 100 cars were targeted in Leeds, London and Zurich alone. As per People Magazine, Tyre Extinguishers claim to have deflated over 10,000 SUVs in various cities worldwide since March in their effort to rid urban areas of the vehicles. Incidentally, People Magazine food editor Ana Calderone was one of the victims of the action in New York. “ATTENTION - your gas guzzler kills,” read the flyer left on her car. “We have deflated one or more of your tires. You’ll be angry, but don’t take it personally.” “There has to be a better way to combat climate change than vandalizing people’s cars,” Calderone told Yahoo News.

As per The Guardian, the group claims there are around 100 autonomous groups around the world sabotaging SUV tyres.

“There are other groups taking similar action that the Tyre Extinguishers are not in direct contact with, and not all actions are reported,” the newspaper quoted the group as saying. The Tyre Extinguishers on their website claims to have spawned groups such as The DundeeFlators (Scotland), ‘Reifenbande Wien’ (Tyre Gang Vienna), Les Degonfleurs (France), SUVVersive (Italy). In July, the group took responsibility for deflating tyres of 60 SUVs in multiple locations across the Waterloo Region in Ontario, as per Yahoo News. Cherri Greeno of the Waterloo Regional Police service told the website they had received 35 reports from people who found their cars with deflated tyres – each with a note saying: “Your gas guzzler kills.” “Hopefully they find a safer way to get their message across,” Greeno told Yahoo News Canada. “This could turn into a safety concern if people are getting into their vehicles and not realising they’re deflated and they drive on it, it could be potentially dangerous.” With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.