Activist Greta Thunberg was temporarily banned from the city of Venice, Italy, after she and three dozen members of an environmentalist group called ‘Extinction Rebellion’ turned Venice’s Grand Canal lime green on Monday.
The group did this to protest and create awareness for the little progress world governments have made to stop using fossil fuels.
The non-toxic fluorescent dye turned the canal water green and was one of many protests the group has done in 10 cities throughout Italy.
In addition to dyeing the water green, Thunberg and her team held a banner that read “Stop Ecocide” from the famous Rialto Bridge. The group wore striking red clothing with veils on their faces, in a ‘mock funeral’ mourning the lack of action by governments around the world.
“Let’s symbolically paint green the waters of Italy, many contaminated daily by industries supported by our own government, because this is the world toward which current climate policies are dragging us,” read a statement by an Extinction Rebellion activist.
Thunberg and 35 other activists received a 48-hour ban from the famous Italian city and a $174 fine, for the act, with the governor of the region, Luca Zaia, stating that the way the protest was done was, “a disrespectful act towards our city, its history and its fragility.”