Burning Man Goes Green

People from all over the world began partying last night in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. Burning Man is a week-long event that inspires people from all over the world to come and celebrate creativity and self-expression. The Desert floor or “playa” is converted into a city of sorts with a theme. This year, Burning Man seeks to raise awareness about the environment with a theme of green:

“I’ve heard people say, `It’s Burning Man, not Composting Dude,’” admits Tom Price, an environmental journalist and 11-year Burner who is the environmental manager for this year’s event. Many efforts at conservation and recycling that are being undertaken to compensate for what is estimated to be the event’s 27,000-ton “carbon footprint”—an estimate of the amount of carbon dioxide put into the atmosphere through fuel consumption in its many forms.

Price can tick off dozens of changes being made this year in the pursuit of reducing the event’s environmental impact: creation of a new fleet of 1,000 free community bikes (once there, most Burners travel the expansive city on bikes); the changeover of all city generators from diesel to biodiesel; efforts to recycle wood used in building the city (last year six tractor-trailers full of recycled lumber went to Reno’s Habitat for Humanity); an arrangement with the Albertsons grocery chain to provide seven 24-hour recycling centers for Burners leaving the playa; etc.

“It’s a very different kind of Burning Man,” he says. “It has an outward focus; it’s the first theme that’s had real-world implications.”

[via Popmatters]