Climate Protesters Glued to Floor

Zackary Langlois, Journalist

Climate protesters are trying new methods to raise awareness about their cause worldwide.

In the last few weeks, climate protesters made the headlines more dramatically. They have vandalized many priceless artworks, stopped traffic, and spent more than 42 hours in a room.

At the end of October, academics and scientists from the “Scientist Rebellion” glued their hands to the floor of the Porsche museum and complained they were hungry. They spent more than 20 hours without light and heating and, in total, 42 hours glued to the floor. Unmoved by the stunt, the museum staff closed the lights and the heat and left.

The demonstration was supposed to last a few hours, but it was prolonged for 42 hours “Since Volkswagen seemed open to hearing our claims, we decided to stay,” said the scientist Gianluca Grimalda in a press release published on Monday.

They protested against Volkswagen because they are the second largest car manufacturer, even if Volkswagen is going all-electric by 2035. Among their demands, they want the car giant to put pressure on the German government to limit the speed on highways to 100 km/h. According to ecologist Wolfgang Cramer, the measure could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 4.3 million tons a year.

After just a few hours of protesting, the militant group complained that the glue was irritating their hands, they were hungry, and they desperately needed the bathrooms. “Staff refused our request to provide us with a bowl to urinate and defecate decently while we are glued, and have now turned off the heating,” said the protesters on Twitter.

The 42 hours of protestation finished with police intervention. Gianluca Grimalda left a few hours before the other protesters because his hand swelled, and when the doctors arrived, they detected the potential presence of blood clots.

Since the last few weeks, the protests for the climate have multiplied. The group just stopped oil vandalizing an art piece, Van Ghogs’ “Sunflowers,” and glued their hands to the wall to protest against the oil extraction they also blocked the M25 highway that encircles London. Another group of climate activists in Berlin threw mashed potatoes to Monet’s “Les Meules.”