Burning Man and environmental impact of travelling there

[maladroit]

You also have to account for the energy consumed during the extraction, processing, and transport.

[Simon of the Playa]

mootpoint.jpg

[The Rod]

This is ad hominem. It's attacking the person making the argument and not addressing the argument itself.

I don't see any personal attacks against you. What I see is people questioning the validity and applicability of your authoritative declarations on an event in which many folks here are very passionate about and have many years of experience atending. The equivalent of barging into a room and saying "let me tell you how this thing works and what we need to do to fix it", when quite frankly, I'm not so sure you know how this thing works and the popular consensus is that it does not need fixing.

Instead, like SSE and many others have repeatedly said (I'll say it once too, because what the hell... or did I already say this?) if the environmental impact of the event is something you are passionate about then this is the perfect opportunity for you to do something about it, and there have been a few very helpful suggestions.

Also, stop taking yourself so goddamn seriously.

Hint: Burners tend to be a highly irreverent and snarky bunch of folks. If you are unable to see the silliness of your own comments and threads then, well, I don't know if eplaya (or Burning Man) is for you.

[Captain Goddammit]

Well OK I was a bit abrasive, but A-Rock just did a much better job of clarifying what I meant and why I might have been mildly irritated.
Its just not the kind of thing you seem to think it is!

[gaminwench]

First year puppies are sooooo adorable!!!

[maladroit]

First year puppies are sooooo adorable!!!

At least until they start chewing up your shoes and pissing on the rug.

[BBadger]

0k, I'm no chemist, but:
how, does propane, which weighs about 4 pounds per gallon, create 12 pounds of CO2?

Speaking of propane...

The Earth-Gaia must have wept tears of sorrow each time our neighbors exploded propane-gas canisters in their "Carburetor" -- a burnt out husk of a car used as a burn barrel that was kept perpetually alight throughout the entire event using wood. It sounded like a bomb went off each time they did it, which was sometimes in the middle of the night, causing car alarms to go off from the concussion blast. Pretty obnoxious and frightening, actually.

Oh Burning Man...

[Ratty]

Bbadger, Was that the 'CAR-B-QUE' in Gigsville?

[BBadger]

Bbadger, Was that the 'CAR-B-QUE' in Gigsville?

Ahhh that's the name! Well I got the "car" part right.

*BOOM!*

"WHAT THE FUCK!?"

[maladroit]

Better than Barbie Car.

[WileE13]

I personally do not care about my "environmental impact" at Burning Man. That being said, however, it is probably less for that week then it would be at home, running electricity, operating heavy equipment, and generally living life as normal. I would guess that the environmental impact from 70,000 Burners in BRC is probably less than it is in a normal city of 70,000 people.

[BBadger]

It's probably still more going to BRC. Electricity at home, natural gas for cooking, etc. isn't really that much for a week. You might also be making up for it with generators, MVs, etc. It may be that some peoples' weekly commutes use more gas, but I doubt it.

In the end, if it really matters to you, don't attend.

[trilobyte]

Read the exhaustive environmental assessment (the PDF is over 300 pages long). Like any exhaustive government environmental study, it's a dry read but very informative if you genuinely care. The impact of the event, even with all the burns and all the generators, is actually significantly less than that of any city of comparable size.

As for the impact of the traveling to get there, it's largely no different than any other traveling that people do. You may have some control and impact on what that impact is, though. Make use of carpools and rideshares, if you're in a camp consider organizing a truck to haul the bulk of gear so that you can reduce the number of vehicles coming into/going out of the city. It may not seem like much, but it certainly makes a difference and when multiplied across a city of 70K it can definitely add up.

[theCryptofishist]

Read the exhaustive environmental assessment (the PDF is over 300 pages long). Like any exhaustive government environmental study, it's a dry read but very informative if you genuinely care.

Environmental documents are bureaucratic, technical, legal, and scientific (is that right, I'm pretty sure I had four, but technical and scientific seem almost the same, and governmental seems a lot like bureaucratic) for a trifecta +1 of dullness.

On the other hand, if they are hiding something, it can become a thrill trying to figure out what they are dancing around.
I cannot, however, recite the Reviewer's Code.

[maladroit]

Just find the confessional yurt. "I absolve you from your sins against Gaia and you may now enter Hippie Heaven. Say one hundred namastes and go in peace bro."

[BBadger]

The BM ticket is an indulgence. Maybe some day, in response, someone will nail a set of demands on one of the gates and start a reformation. Until then, it's all good.

[maladroit]

The BM ticket is an indulgence. Maybe some day, in response, someone will nail a set of demands on one of the gates and start a reformation. Until then, it's all good.

It would be a strange day if someone was NOT trying to nail a rant on the door of BMORG.