A dataset of blockade, vandalism, and harassment activities for the cause of climate change mitigation

Data Brief. 2024 Mar 19:54:110342. doi: 10.1016/j.dib.2024.110342. eCollection 2024 Jun.

Abstract

Environmental activism is crucial for raising public awareness and support toward addressing the climate crisis. However, using climate change mitigation as the cause for blockade, vandalism, and harassment activities might be counterproductive and risk causing negative repercussions and declining public support. The paper describes a dataset of metadata of 89 blockade, vandalism, and harassment events happening 13 countries in recent years. The dataset comprises three main categories: 1) Events, 2) Activists, and 3) Consequences. For researchers interested in environmental activism, climate change, and sustainability, the dataset is helpful in studying the effectiveness and appropriateness of strategies to raise public awareness and support. For researchers in the field of security studies and green criminology, the dataset offers resources to study features and impacts of blockade, vandalism, and harassment events. The Bayesian Mindsponge Framework (BMF) analytics was employed to validate the dataset. Consequently, the estimated result aligns with the Mindsponge Theory's theoretical reasoning.

Keywords: Art vandalism; Climate change; Environmental activism; Event disruption; Harassment; Mindsponge theory; Road blockage; Violence.