The group has claimed credit for tyre-deflating operations in 18 countries
A climate activist group, named the Tyre Extinguishers and based in the U.K. is going around deflating the tyres of parked SUVs (sports utility vehicles) on the roads in an effort to combat global warming.
According to Fox News, the group has claimed credit for tyre-deflating operations in American cities including New York City, Boston, Chicago and San Francisco, and cities in England, Canada, France, Spain, Germany and Italy among others.
"Reports coming in of very angry #CarShaggers who are upset they can't drive their massive tanks around Lisbon. Oh no! Welcome to the fun, Portugal! We will make SUVs history," the group posted on Twitter along with an image of a Portuguese-language pamphlet the activists left on one of the targeted SUVs.
On their own website, the "Tyre Extinguishers" guerilla climate activism organisation explains why they are protesting against SUVs.
The group's website has details and instructions on how to quickly deflate tires on parked cars. It also has a template for pamphlets that activists can use during their operations. Once the person deflates the tyres, they leave a document with a headline stating, "ATTENTION - your gas guzzler kills," on the vehicle's windshield explaining to its owner why the action was taken.
The pamphlet says, "You'll be angry, but don't take it personally. It's not you, it's your car. We did this because driving around in urban areas in your massive vehicle has huge consequences for others."
"We are 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's website adds. "We are defending ourselves against climate change, air pollution and unsafe drivers. We do this with a simple tactic: Deflating the tyres of these massive, unnecessary vehicles, causing inconvenience for their owners."
According to its website, Tyre Extinguishers is a "leaderless, autonomous movement of groups that act independently."
"SUVs and 4x4s are a disaster for our health, our public safety, and our climate. Bigger and bigger cars are dominating our towns and cities, all so a privileged few can flaunt their wealth. Because governments and politicians have failed to protect us from this danger, we must protect ourselves. We want to make it impossible to own a huge polluting 4x4 in the world's urban areas. We do this by deflating the tyres of these massive, unnecessary vehicles, causing inconvenience and expense for their owners," says the website of the organisation.