Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Greens set out to monitor Burning Man fair (Think it may contribute to "Global Warming")
UK Telegraph ^ | 9/2/06 | Catherine Elsworth

Posted on 09/02/2006 6:02:00 PM PDT by wagglebee

A counter-culture arts festival which champions alternative living is being vetted by environmentalists for its contribution to global warming.

Burning Man bans the sale of anything but ice and coffee and declares clothing optional. The festival, which is expected to draw nearly 40,000 people to the Nevada desert this week, is described as an "experiment in temporary community dedicated to radical self-expression and radical self-reliance".

It has few rules, no structure and features performances, installation art and music, which culminate in the symbolic burning of a large wooden man. A group of San Francisco scientists, calling themselves Cooling Man, have launched a project to calculate how much greenhouse gas is produced by all the camper vans, private planes, flaming temples and fire eaters that descend for a week on the Black Rock Desert, 100 miles north of Reno.

Their website enables "burners", as festival participants are known, to calculate how much greenhouse gas they are creating and encourages them to offset emissions by planting trees, investing in renewable energy and buying greenhouse gas "credits". Just the construction, transportation and burning of the 40ft, 38-ton wood and neon man releases 114 tons of greenhouse gases, the team estimates.

The aim is to make the festival "climate positive" by more than offsetting the total emissions.

"Burning Man does a great job of getting on the ground after the event and picking up every nail and speck of glitter," said David Shearer, an air quality scientist from California Environmental Associates who helped form Cooling Man.

"But we want to take that to the next level — leaving no trace of greenhouse gases in the climate."


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 60sretreads; acid; burningman; burnouts; cocaine; crack; dopers; drug; druggies; drugs; drunks; enviornmentalwackos; farout; globalwarming; greens; groovy; hippies; leftists; lsd; marijuana; narcotics; potheads; stupidhippies; thelefteatingitself; warondrugs; wod; wodlist; woodstock1969isover
It's always fun to watch the leftists eat their own.
1 posted on 09/02/2006 6:02:01 PM PDT by wagglebee
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: wagglebee
It's always fun to watch the leftists eat their own.

This seems more like moonbats vs moonbats to me.

2 posted on 09/02/2006 6:12:45 PM PDT by DejaJude (Admiral Clark said, "Our mantra today is life, liberty and the pursuit of those who threaten it!")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee

"alternative living" = Commune Komrade.


3 posted on 09/02/2006 6:12:58 PM PDT by stm (Good people sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: DejaJude

Except the moonbats are basically the "mainstream" left these days.


4 posted on 09/02/2006 6:17:19 PM PDT by wagglebee ("We are ready for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom." -- President Bush, 1/20/05)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee

Matter and anti-matter meeting.


5 posted on 09/02/2006 6:19:22 PM PDT by Dane ("Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall" Ronald Reagan, 1987)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee
Burning Man bans the sale of anything but ice and coffee and declares clothing optional.

I'd like to see them try in February in upstate NY. These whackos need a healthy dose of reality.

6 posted on 09/02/2006 6:24:52 PM PDT by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee
Burners are more free-spirit types; kind of like Deadheads, but smarter. After the Burning Man festival is over, the organizers and volunteers go over the whole area and pick up every little peice of trash and debris that gets left behind.

They've always seems a little strange, but harmless, to me.

7 posted on 09/02/2006 6:29:06 PM PDT by Zeroisanumber (Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Zeroisanumber
After the Burning Man festival is over, the organizers and volunteers go over the whole area and pick up every little peice of trash and debris that gets left behind.

There's probably plenty of discarded roaches to smoke.

8 posted on 09/02/2006 6:32:07 PM PDT by wagglebee ("We are ready for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom." -- President Bush, 1/20/05)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee

Sounds a little like the "Bread and Puppet" event in Glover Vermont.


9 posted on 09/02/2006 6:41:24 PM PDT by ProCivitas ("Who run Bartertown?!""MasterBlaster run Bartertown!")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee

...And by that I mean it sounds kind of interesting and worthwhile if it emphasizes the self-sufficiency and ecology instead of the 'clothing optional' stuff.


10 posted on 09/02/2006 6:46:01 PM PDT by ProCivitas ("Who run Bartertown?!""MasterBlaster run Bartertown!")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee

Put some LSD in their soy and greens and they will love the Burning Man!!!!!!!!!


11 posted on 09/02/2006 7:10:51 PM PDT by therut
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ProCivitas

This is what you call green on green. Hehehehehe.


12 posted on 09/02/2006 7:11:18 PM PDT by Parley Baer
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: Dane
It's the "Hey, look at me I'm freakier than you" fest with professional artists showing off their "government grant funded creations" just so they can burn them down. How quaint... How about doing something productive for society?
13 posted on 09/02/2006 7:15:25 PM PDT by divine_moment_of_facts
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Blue Jays
Hi All-

The leftist hippies that attend Burning Man are very peculiar. Here are random pictures from their 2005 online gallery of some of the crackpots who attended the event. They have psychological problems:

~ Blue Jays ~

14 posted on 09/02/2006 7:23:46 PM PDT by Blue Jays (Rock Hard, Ride Free)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: therut
I think it would have been a wise idea for them the leave the kids home
15 posted on 09/02/2006 7:30:02 PM PDT by divine_moment_of_facts
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee
"But we want to take that to the next level — leaving no trace of greenhouse gases in the climate."

Good. Start by holding your breath a##hat. Every worthless breath you take discharges "green house" gases.
16 posted on 09/02/2006 7:34:12 PM PDT by Kozak (Anti Shahada: " There is no God named Allah, and Muhammed is his False Prophet")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee
"But we want to take that to the next level — leaving no trace of greenhouse gases in the climate."

Also wants to see every green plant on Earth die too I guess.
17 posted on 09/02/2006 7:35:10 PM PDT by Kozak (Anti Shahada: " There is no God named Allah, and Muhammed is his False Prophet")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee

[cue Christopher Lee]

"Come. It is time to keep your appointment with the Wicker Man."


18 posted on 09/02/2006 7:42:36 PM PDT by RichInOC (...no actual climate scientists were harmed in the making of this post.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee

i love these trust fund baby eco -radicals-they all drive diesels and crnak up the a/c all summer(i drive 4-cyl vehicles,use ceiling fans,and have the thermostat at 58 on winter nights)


19 posted on 09/02/2006 7:48:16 PM PDT by steamroller
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Blue Jays
Hi All-

They like being bizarre for the sake of being bizarre. If one really wanted to be counter-culture at this place, he or she would arrive wearing khaki shorts, a golf shirt, and sneakers and have a normal haircut with no tattoos or piercings. This is just a bunch of people conforming to their rebellion!

~ Blue Jays ~

20 posted on 09/02/2006 7:57:01 PM PDT by Blue Jays (Rock Hard, Ride Free)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee
So please tell me how burning a 38 ton wooden man releases 114 tons of greenhouse gasses.
21 posted on 09/02/2006 9:29:02 PM PDT by Boiling point (When the GOP asks for donations, send them PESOs)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Boiling point
Hi B.P.-

Easy...it's simple creative math!

~ Blue Jays ~

22 posted on 09/02/2006 9:39:21 PM PDT by Blue Jays (Rock Hard, Ride Free)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 21 | View Replies]

To: Blue Jays
Perhaps this is all just an elaborate plot to destroy the Greenhouse industry!
23 posted on 09/02/2006 9:45:02 PM PDT by Boiling point (When the GOP asks for donations, send them PESOs)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]

To: Boiling point
Hi B.P.-

"...Just the construction, transportation and burning of the 40ft, 38-ton wood and neon man releases 114 tons of greenhouse gases, the team estimates..."

I guess they also added the impact of all those peculiar people driving and flying to reach the event. Plus the trucks required to haul all that wood into the middle of the desert...simply to burn it.

~ Blue Jays ~

24 posted on 09/02/2006 9:56:05 PM PDT by Blue Jays (Rock Hard, Ride Free)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies]

To: Boiling point

Simple: Count the air it mixes with. Same way a teaspoon of instant coffee "makes" 12 ounces of coffee. Ya gotta be creative.


25 posted on 09/02/2006 10:03:05 PM PDT by Larry Lucido ("There's no problem so big that government intervention can't make it worse.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 21 | View Replies]

To: Zeroisanumber
Burners are more free-spirit types; kind of like Deadheads, but smarter.

After I returned to San Francisco from my first Burn in 1996, a hippie friend asked me what it was like. I told him "It's just like the Rainbow Gathering but with gasoline and meat." Best of both worlds, really.

26 posted on 09/02/2006 10:05:45 PM PDT by rogue yam
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: divine_moment_of_facts
"government grant funded creations"

If there are government grants then this is something quite new of which I have not heard. I'd be surprised. The gate fee is quite hefty and pays for everything, so far as I know. People can bust on Burning Man for a number of reasons if they so choose, but I don't think mooching off of non-participants is one of them.

27 posted on 09/02/2006 10:09:53 PM PDT by rogue yam
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: rogue yam

Actually I kind of like the burning man festival. Some oddballs, sure, but they seem to appreciate art. Its also (shudder) a private, capitalistic venture, with expensive entry fees, etc.


28 posted on 09/03/2006 12:28:08 AM PDT by boop (Now Greg, you know I don't like that WORD!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 26 | View Replies]

To: rogue yam

I'd be interested to hear of your experience. I think I'd enjoy going, but I have a job.


29 posted on 09/03/2006 12:30:48 AM PDT by boop (Now Greg, you know I don't like that WORD!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 26 | View Replies]

To: boop
I'd be interested to hear of your experience. I think I'd enjoy going, but I have a job.

It is not easy to go to Burning Man. The site is remote and harsh and you must bring everything you need. The only thing you can buy there is ice and coffee. (Seriously.) It is expensive and time-consuming to participate at all, and most who participate have good, demanding jobs. It really cuts down on the day trippers and lookey loos. The level of participation and contribution is astounding. People will bring all of the structures, fixtures, and equipment to create a throbbing, pulsating nightclub on a piece of flat dirt, create that nightclub, and then run it for free, with entertainment and refreshments for all comers and not even say a word about it. Others will create unbelievably beautiful interactive sculptural installations with an ongoing performance component that rock for days, and then culminate their work in the piece's utter destruction by fire. There is simply no limit to what can be done. Each year there are Burning Man threads on FR where the uninformed belittle the burners for being hippies and bums. Nothing could be further from the truth. These are Americans doing their own thing in their own way. We should all be proud of them, in my opinion.

30 posted on 09/03/2006 2:45:26 AM PDT by rogue yam
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee
Has anyone ever tallied who much all the Green "monitoring" contributes to global warming?
31 posted on 09/03/2006 6:10:47 AM PDT by Baynative (Peace on Earth? ~ Not while there are Muslims on Earth!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: rogue yam
Hi rogue yam-

Glad to hear about this event from your boots-on-the-ground perspective. What percentage of Burning Man attendees do you estimate voted for conservative candidates during the past decade?

~ Blue Jays ~

32 posted on 09/03/2006 6:19:38 AM PDT by Blue Jays (Rock Hard, Ride Free)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 30 | View Replies]

To: Baynative
IT LOOKS LIKE A WOODSTOCK REVIVAL...


33 posted on 09/03/2006 6:24:34 AM PDT by Baynative (Peace on Earth? ~ Not while there are Muslims on Earth!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 31 | View Replies]

To: rogue yam; wagglebee; Baynative; boop; Blue Jays; Larry Lucido; Boiling point; steamroller; ...

What other semi-interesting sub-cultures like this are there one can participate in? Parrot-Heads (Buffet fans)? Phish-heads? Motorhome (especially Streamline) enthusiasts? Volkswagen buffs? Mary Kay cosmetics cults? ...others?


34 posted on 09/03/2006 6:44:26 AM PDT by ProCivitas ("Who run Bartertown?!""MasterBlaster run Bartertown!")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 30 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee

These Greens are the worst sort of liberal. Any kind of fun is bad. I am starting to use the term liberal fundamentalism. A de facto religion. And one of the tenets of this religion is that any form of enjoyment is a sin, and everyone must be miserable. Sound familiar? What's next, the Greens distribute burkas?

Highly unlikely that you would find me at Burning Man. However I would not be surprised to hear that some libertarian types go there.


35 posted on 09/03/2006 6:48:40 AM PDT by Fred Hayek (Liberalism is a mental disorder)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Fred Hayek
These Greens are the worst sort of liberal.

They helped GWB to win, by voting for Nader.

36 posted on 09/03/2006 7:05:07 AM PDT by A. Pole (Russian proverb: "All are not cooks that walk with long knives")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 35 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee

When someone spills their hot coffee will they be able to file suit?


37 posted on 09/03/2006 7:10:23 AM PDT by stocksthatgoup ("Is it real? Or is it Reuters?")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: rogue yam
Each year there are Burning Man threads on FR where the uninformed belittle the burners for being hippies and bums. Nothing could be further from the truth. These are Americans doing their own thing in their own way. We should all be proud of them, in my opinion.

I see no reason to be "proud" of someone doing their own thing in their own way. They should feel proud that they live in a country that tolerates them.

38 posted on 09/03/2006 8:18:47 AM PDT by DejaJude (Admiral Clark said, "Our mantra today is life, liberty and the pursuit of those who threaten it!")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 30 | View Replies]

To: DejaJude
I see no reason to be "proud" of someone doing their own thing in their own way. They should feel proud that they live in a country that tolerates them.

Suit yourself. As for me, I often take pride in the accomplishments of my fellow countrymen, whether it is in the arts, or music, or sports, or industry, or science and technology, or whatever. Yes we have a great system, but it is great people who accomplish great things. And I feel that Burners need and receive no "toleration" above what baseball players or software industry executives do, e.g.

39 posted on 09/03/2006 12:38:47 PM PDT by rogue yam
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 38 | View Replies]

To: Blue Jays
What percentage of Burning Man attendees do you estimate voted for conservative candidates during the past decade?

Probably about the percentage you'd expect from young urban west-coast hipsters, artists and yuppies, which is to say very few.

40 posted on 09/03/2006 12:41:05 PM PDT by rogue yam
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 32 | View Replies]

To: metmom

"I'd like to see them try in February in upstate NY. These whackos need a healthy dose of reality."

Or a healthy dose of frostbite. Or second-degree sunburn. It may not change their foolish ways, but it will sure make them walk funny for a few weeks, which is entertaining for the sane members of society.


41 posted on 09/06/2006 5:58:16 PM PDT by 60Gunner (Leftism: preoperational egocentrism with a gun)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson