European countries are facing a disastrous heatwave and drought, that has led to governments implementing restrictions on water usage. A group of French climate change activists resorted to property damage by filling the holes at golf courses with cement in order to protest against golf courses being exempt from some of these restrictions.
Photo by Robert Ruggiero. Free to use under the Unsplash license.
Due to the drought, in France specifically, some areas have had to implement strict water usage bans, restricting some regular activities such as watering personal gardens or washing cars. Golf courses, however, have been exempt from the bans. If a golf club’s course dies from a drought, that’s tens of thousands of dollars (well, in their case euros) down the drain and many local jobs simply evaporated.
However, a group of climate change activists don’t seem to care about that though. Extinction Rebellion Toulouse, a radical climate change group that is part of the larger Extinction Rebellion organization, which has committed insane stunts in the past such as attempting to have activists glue themselves to rare pieces of fine art in museums and even the Shell headquarters, began going to golf courses to fill the golf holes with cement.
The activists vandalized the golf courses due to their water ban exemptions, claiming that golf specifically is a “leisure industry of the most privileged.” This adds insult to injury for golf courses struggling to get by and keep their staff employed.
Gérard Rougier, who is part of the French Golf Federation, has spoken out on this issue, particularly pointing out localities that have completely banned the watering of golf courses until the drought passes.
Rougier commented that “A golf course without a green is like an ice-rink without ice.”
https://twitter.com/pushyamitrsunga/status/1558107186647093248?s=20&t=odKK-vDOzPrnYy90Ijuyiw
Obviously, the loss of income and jobs which the golf industry in France provides, roughly 15,000 employees, is of no concern to Extinction Rebellion.
On their Twitter account, the activist-vandals boasted about their recent act of property damage by posting a photo of a cement filled golf hole. “This hole is drinking 277,000 liters,” they tweeted, “Do you drink that much? #StopGolf.”
Screenshot: xrToulouse Twitter
Currently, there is also a petition being circulated which would scrap the water ban exemption for golf courses in France entirely, saying that “economic madness takes precedence over ecological reason.”
What is your take on this issue? Should golf courses stop watering their greens during this historic drought or should they remain exempt from the ban so that those employed can continue to work?