Erstellt am: 16. 9. 2013 - 15:00 Uhr

Pedalling Polar Bears

An "Ice Ride" to protest against plans to drill in the Arctic

An army of cyclists gathered at the Schwarzenbergplatz in central Vienna on Sunday to protest against oil drilling in the Arctic. Some, despite the warm weather, were dressed from head to toe in furry polar bears costumes. They are here to take part in the Ice Ride, a bicycle protest ride organised by Greenpeace.

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“This ride is about defending the Arctic, a region that is important for every single human being out there,” said the Vienna event’s organiser Lukas Meus. “The Arctic acts as a refrigerator for the whole planet. It is vital for the global climate. But the ice is melting much more quickly than anyone expected and now oil companies want to drill in the Arctic.”

Officials in the United States have estimated that the region holds up to 13% of the world's undiscovered oil and 30% of its untapped natural gas. Paradoxically, man-made climate change, which scientists say has been caused by the burning of fossil fuels, is expected to make those deposits easier to reach as the Arctic ice cap shrinks.

“It seems crazy to drill for more oil in the Arctic,” complained David, a protester who has come to the ride wearing the mask of what appears to be an Arctic fox, “We should be trying to use less oil.” Greenpeace`s Meus added that any oil-spill in the fragile ecosystem could “destroy the Arctic for centuries or perhaps for ever.”

The science from the Arctic is alarming. A new paper in the journal Nature has argued as the Arctic permafrost melts, 50 Gig tonnes of methane could be rapidly released into the atmosphere. The shock that the scientists say would severely destabilise the climate system. The knock of effects, the scientists argue, would playing havoc with the world`s economy.

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The implication is clear – it is folly to dry and drill for more fossil fuels in the Arctic for profit when we face economic disaster unless we can rapidly bring our carbon emissions under control.

That is why over a hundred cities in 36 countries worldwide simultaneously hosted Ice Rides on Sunday. There was even a protest ride in Manila in the Philippines. Greenpeace says three and half million people have signed their petition demanding that the Arctic be declared off limits oil drilling, including personalities as diverse as Radiohead and former Archbishop Desmond Tutu. In Austria Clara Luzia is supporting the campaign,

Cycling is becoming an ever more common form of protest and Meus said that's a natural development for green issues:

“We`re a movement and that means moving forward. What more ecological way of moving forward than riding a bike?”

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It's a global concern but also partly a specific Austrian issue, argues Meus, who has chosen to begin the ride at the Schwarzenbergplatz because one of the companies involved in the plans to drill in the Arctic, Gazprom Neft Trading GmbH, has its headquarter there and, after rolling around the Ring, the cyclists head to a petrol station run by Shell – another oil company with ambitions to exploit the far north. Greenpeace estimates that 700 cyclists joined to protest, the police put the figure at around 250.

chris cummins

At the Schwarzenbergplatz, Greenpeace`s Lukas Meus makes a speech, telling of his shock when he saw pictures of a polar bear that starved because the melt had left him stranded too far away from his food supply. “But at the same time I thought of all the volunteers and protestors fighting for the Arctic. I decided that as long as they are on the streets, the battle isn`t over.”