It´s not every day you see a cop arresting a polar bear, but that´s exactly what happened at this week´s #FloodWallStreet climate change protest sit-in in New York. Hundreds gathered in the financial district a day after the global climate change march, which took place in at least 150 cities around the globe and brought 300,000 people to New York alone. It was organized to take place just before a crucial UN meeting on climate change began.
Flood Wall Street demonstrators wore blue as a symbol of climate change-induced flooding, and marched in the financial district to “highlight the role of Wall Street in fueling the climate crisis,” organizers said.
Two superheroes in Captain Planet outfits, a polar bear, and four wheelchair users (calling themselves ´Crips against climate change´) were among some 100 people arrested. Pepper spray was used (video here) around 5pm, when activists reached some police barricades and got one cop all excited. By 7pm things grew tense again and reporters on the scene tweeted that police had ´kettled´ protesters in (while simultaneously ordering them to disperse, confusingly).
If you´re not sure what all the big climate change fuss is about this week, we recommend watching Leonardo DiCaprio´s speech to the UN, trending this week all over the internet. He breaks down the climate change problem well, linking it to power and big business, and he talks far more sense than any politician. Let´s hope that the end of the conference brings more from them than just the usual hot air.
Credits:
Image: Flickr / Elizabeth Stilwell
