Inspired by a series of actions and sabotages against “the world of concrete” in France (2), Belgium and Switzerland, we visited the CEMEX concrete plant on Schleusenufer in Berlin-Kreuzberg in the early hours of December 27 and used fire to stop several concrete mixer trucks and bring the conveyor belt and a technical building to a standstill.
A master among the climate killers
The wasteland of concrete and asphalt continues to spread. In Germany alone, up to 30 hectares of living soil are buried under the most sought-after building material every day. Roads, squares, commercial areas, industrial plants and houses; huge parts of the earth’s surface are already sealed and infrastructure projects such as dams, freeways, bridges, airports etc. consume several billion tons of concrete every year.
All this is not without consequences. Concrete is considered the climate killer par excellence. Almost 10 percent of the carbon dioxide that this system currently blows into the air comes from the cement industry. That is almost three times as much as air traffic. At the same time, concrete production consumes enormous amounts of resources. Sand in particular, which is essential for production, is already in short supply, which is why coastal areas and sometimes entire islands are being dredged worldwide. With devastating effects on the surrounding ecosystems. The increasing sealing of soils also has catastrophic consequences. Urban areas are heating up more and more, while rainwater can no longer seep into the ground. Groundwater reservoirs are not filling up as before, which will lead to water shortages in many places in the long term or has already done so. Drought and aridity are the result of this on the one hand, while flooding and erosion are occurring elsewhere due to increasingly frequent heavy rainfall. More than that, every additional meter of concrete destroys habitats and food sources. The loss of natural ground areas and the lack of vegetation lead to a decline in biodiversity, which has an impact on many animal and plant populations and will result in the extinction of individual species. Continue reading “Berlin, Germany: Against environmental destruction, oppression and war – fire for CEMEX concrete plant”