Black Rock City, NV - Sustainable City?

Just got back from Black Rock City, NV and realized I haven't blogged in a while. I miss sitting down and being able to hear my own thoughts, something that was difficult to do amidst the din and distraction in BRC. This was my first Burn; I was lucky to be on the Michaelangelo Project scholarship and part of the Earth Guardians camp, burners who do outreach on Leave No Trace, alternative energy, greywater treatment, and other green stuff. Earth Guardians patrol for MOOP (Matter Out Of Place, BM lingo for trash), monitor burn platforms to make sure no toxic stuff gets in there, and lead geology and nature walks. (I mainly sat and looked pretty at the Help Desk, signed volunteers up, and gave out MOOP bags and bandanas.)

The question of the sustainability of Burning Man came up several times. The festival probably burns more than its fair share of greenhouse-gas emitting fuels. During the festival, countless fire and flame effects consume Man-knows-how-much propane. How wasteful to build egregrious edifices then burn them for mere symbolism. Before and after, 40,ooo+ people drive or fly to this god forsaken place in gas guzzling cars, vans, trucks, and RVs. Who's counting the plastic bottles of water burners bring to survive on the bone dry playa bed? How much electricity powers all the bright lights and loud sounds? What about the scattered ashes and cigarette butts of smokers, other MOOP? I found an aerial photo of Black Rock Desert today, where you can see the traces of the streets left behind on the desert floor. It would be interesting to do water, carbon and ecological footprint analyses for the event. Guess what? We get to decide as a community whether to carry on with this or not, and it looks like the Man is here to stay and burn -- burners have done lots to mitigate our collective impacts.

It's too easy to MOOP talk so I'm singing the praises of the city itself. Next year's theme is out -- Metropolis -- Woohoo!!! Many design features in the city could serve as a model for other cities. First let me just say, it was So nice to not deal with cars on the streets of BRC. I loved how you can bike and walk anywhere, and anyhow, you liked. The entire city, within the pentagon, is only 4.5 square miles. The Man is less than half mile from Center Camp and Esplanade, the main city drag. Another half mile and you're at the Temple. The promenade from Esplanade at 3:00 to 9:00 is just 1 mile, totally walkable and bikeable. (With so many distractions along the way, there's no saying how long it would take -- either felt like no time at all, or could be very, very long.) Then, of course there's the keyhole plaza of Center Camp, and the smaller plazas dispersed very geometrically at 3:00, 4:30, 7:30 and 9:00 where you can get to a ranger, ice, medical help, and your dose of public art. The fact that the city exists only a week, plus/minus set-up and tear-down time, adds to its sustainability -- I don't think it could sustain itself 365 days a year.

Best of all, I think, is how participatory everything is. You are the art. You are the city. As Our Great Lady of the Metropolis, Jane Jacobs, says, "Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody." (This quote by the way, has been on my email signature for months, and is now heralding next year's Art Theme.) I am so excited about next year's Burn.

The EG camp















A village of red swarmed the Flattery Camp, leaving the flatterers flabbergasted.















The Pirate Ship, Pink Parasol, and Omnibus to Nowhere. Not to mention the helium/LED baloons adrift by design.
















All the forces aligned








Bikes at center camp, BRC Post Office, where the Disgruntled Postal Workers give you shit



















Playa tennis, anyone?















The Night of the Rocket that Didn't Launch, "existing between yesterday's tomorrow and the future that never was..."















MOM, watching my bike in the dust storm















The Night of the Man Burn















The Night of the Temple Burn, with our Ancestors' blessing ("spiraling, tornado-like dust plumes that traverse the playa, either produced by wind or by heat from large fires")