Part 3... A Model for a Greener City?
Now may be a good time to bring up the-man-that-burns part of Burning Man. A man does indeed burn but tis of the woody structural kind rather than the flesh and bones variety. At the end of this week-long festival the great man, which stands at the centre of the desert camp, is lit up as a symbol of release (emotional, spiritual or whatever you'd like it to represent). But of course, as the burning of things does require, it also releases a whole lot of carbon into the atmosphere.This festival/community/city is perhaps not yet a model for green living but it does provide a very real and experimental arena to educate yourself on how to improve and sustain certain aspects of your life in your ‘other home'.
We cannot escape climate change any longer. Changes of another kind must happen if we are to improve our planets potentially dire affair. Which is why, perhaps, the Burning Man school of eco education may be about to get a whole lot greener... in a philosophical kind of way. The theme of this year's burn is Evolution. Here, as the Burning Man web team puts forward to us, is the idea behind this theme:Nature never made a plan, nor does it seem to copy very well. No living thing is ever quite the same as others of its kind. Charles Darwin called this Natural Variation. There is a kind of subtle chaos, a supple element of chance and change, residing at the core of living things. Our theme this year prompts three related questions: What are we as human beings, where have we come from, and how may we adapt to meet an ever-changing world?
I'll report back in a few weeks to let you know if I come up with any answers. In the mean time for more details and images of this extremely (in all senses of the world) extraordinary festival visit www.burningman.com.
