E . formula held the Berlin E-Prix last weekend, but the race started off with unexpected delays: Climate protesters flooded the power grid, climbed fences and glued their eyes to safety vehicles. If you think that the E Formula — a bunch of notes for is electricity — is an odd choice for a climate protest, Friend Not alone. However, think about things a little differently and choose a place begin to make sense.
In case you lost it:
The group claiming responsibility for the protest is called Last generation, a German climate activist group. You might recognize the name from some of their other endeavors: Throw soup into art, throw mashed potatoes into art, hand stickers on art. Less notable than these, however, are the series of highway rallies The previous generation carried out. — often associated with protesters sticking themselves to the asphalt, so they can’t move out of the way of oncoming traffic.
So we’re conscious of Past Generation’s goals and tactics here: Get maximum impact in the news, by attacking — but never spoil — what people were looking at. The group draws people’s attention to the art and tries to translate it into climate awareness. Does it work? Who will say, but at least it’s consistent.
Which brings us to Formula E. At first glance, climate protesters disrupting an all-electric race are just as significant as animal rights activists opposing the Impossibility Burger exam. But this effort, it seems, is time-biased — The previous generation had a series of protests took place across Germany last weekend, of which Formula E was only one part. A part that just happened to appear in the right place, at the right time, with the right number of viewers.
If Berlin were to host the Olympics, the Masters or the World Series of Poker instead, Last Generation’s actions would likely remain unchanged. The group is not directly opposed to Formula E; The race was simply a televised spectacle that the team took to its advantage. Whether the series’ eco-friendly origins are more resistant to protest than it is is a real question, but it’s worth noting. Berlin’s main sponsor E-Prix is a subsidiary of Saudi Aramco — The race isn’t as green as it pretends to be.
The previous generation might be in the news right now with some unkind terms: “Confused“”comical“”joke.” But the group and their climate mission are still in the news. That seems to be enough for the Last Generation to call this rally a victory.
