Photo: The Tyre Extinguishers on Twitter
The “Tire Extinguishers” (or “Tyre Extinguishers” in the UK) confirmed Tuesday that eco-activists managed to deflate the tires of 184 SUVs in just one night in a part of London, the United Kingdom’s capital city. The activists say they are “disarming” these vehicles. Here’s why.
SUV owners from five areas in West London found their vehicles with one or more tires deflated on Tuesday morning. Eco-activists that have branded themselves as “Tire Extinguishers” acted during the night in South Kensington, Maida Vale, St. John’s Wood, Queen’s Park, and Holland Park. They used mostly lentils to let the air out of the tires and informed the unlucky owners about what happened through a leaflet put under the windshield wipers.
The “Tire Extinguishers” said they resorted to this action because “driving around urban areas in massive vehicles has huge consequences for others.” Eco-activists also claimed in the piece of paper left for the targeted car owners to read in the morning that “SUVs and 4x4s are a disaster for our climate” and pollute more than the entire aviation industry.
“Tire Extinguishers” organized these acts by themselves with no schedule or long-term plan. The people involved in the West London action said that “immobilizing SUVs is a small and necessary act of resistance in the face of environmental catastrophe.”
Acting mostly at night and in rich urban areas, the eco-activists demand people to stop using big and heavy vehicles in the city and surrounding areas because of their huge carbon footprint. To turn this goal into reality, they plan on continuing with the deflating activities for as long as it is needed.
The people involved in this form of protest do not spare EVs or hybrids as they say these types of powertrains are also “polluting, dangerous, and cause congestion.”
Up until now, there are no reports of any “Tire Extinguishers” member being caught by law enforcement, even though their actions fall under the definition of vandalism.
According to the leaderless organization, there are currently eight groups of “Tire Extinguishers” active in the U.S. and three in Canada. However, their deflating activities are not taking place in North America as often as in Europe. The movement confirmed recently on its Twitter page that the target of 10,000 SUV tires deflated worldwide has been reached. It celebrated this milestone even though it attracted backlash from other social media users.
The “Tire Extinguishers” said they resorted to this action because “driving around urban areas in massive vehicles has huge consequences for others.” Eco-activists also claimed in the piece of paper left for the targeted car owners to read in the morning that “SUVs and 4x4s are a disaster for our climate” and pollute more than the entire aviation industry.
“Tire Extinguishers” organized these acts by themselves with no schedule or long-term plan. The people involved in the West London action said that “immobilizing SUVs is a small and necessary act of resistance in the face of environmental catastrophe.”
Acting mostly at night and in rich urban areas, the eco-activists demand people to stop using big and heavy vehicles in the city and surrounding areas because of their huge carbon footprint. To turn this goal into reality, they plan on continuing with the deflating activities for as long as it is needed.
The people involved in this form of protest do not spare EVs or hybrids as they say these types of powertrains are also “polluting, dangerous, and cause congestion.”
Up until now, there are no reports of any “Tire Extinguishers” member being caught by law enforcement, even though their actions fall under the definition of vandalism.
According to the leaderless organization, there are currently eight groups of “Tire Extinguishers” active in the U.S. and three in Canada. However, their deflating activities are not taking place in North America as often as in Europe. The movement confirmed recently on its Twitter page that the target of 10,000 SUV tires deflated worldwide has been reached. It celebrated this milestone even though it attracted backlash from other social media users.
"We deflated the tyres of 184 SUVs by administering lentils into the valve caps. SUVs are the second leading cause of the global rise in carbon dioxide emissions over the past decade and are eighteen times more carbon intensive than a family saloon." pic.twitter.com/RBCp3apbjE
— The Tyre Extinguishers (@T_Extinguishers) November 2, 2022
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