Climate activists are really capable of doing a lot to draw our attention to the problems of global warming. They have already glued themselves to a Picasso painting, blocked various streets or removed cobblestones to protest against tree felling.

Now activists from the "Last Generation" (ger. "Letzte Generation") climate change group decided to blockade two airports in Germany. Some of them even stuck themselves to the surface of the runways with industrial-strength adhesive. Unfortunately, it now appears that they may be in danger of having their hands amputated.

On Thursday 13 July the activists blocked the runways and taxiways at Hamburg and Düsseldorf airports causing several hours of delays and some flights being cancelled.

Activists from "Letzte Generation" wanted to draw attention to the problem of high carbon dioxide emissions. According to them, the German government is not doing enough to counteract the climate catastrophe.

"We can't watch any longer as our Earth burns with our government adding fuel to the fire every day with their fossil madness. That's why we're blocking the airport today," said one activist quoted by the "Daily Mail".

According to the police, one of the activists has been arrested, but these are not the only consequences the young people will face. Some of them may lose their hands after taking part in the protest, the "Daily Mail" reports.

"Rzeczpospolita" mentions that the activists used a mixture of concrete and epoxy resin (which is commonly used for construction purposes) to stick themselves to the airport runways. The material hardens over time which means that activists will face the risk of amputating a limb to get their hands out of the adhesive.

At the end of last year it was reported that politicians from the German Christian Democratic parties - the CDU and CSU - were planning to introduce tougher sanctions for climate activists.

According to them we need much stricter penalties for actions such as blocking roads. Politicians claim that they obstruct emergency services and endanger the lives of other citizens. On top of this, some "Last Generation" activists have been accused of forming or supporting a criminal organisation.

The activists claim, however, that their actions are not a threat and the real danger is ignoring the climate crisis by supporting the fuel and coal mining industries.

Source: Rzeczpospolita, Daily Mail