For an event that professes a "leave no trace" ethos, Burning Man sure does emit a ton of pollution.
Actually, the annual event, held in a dried out lake in Nevada's Black Rock Desert, emits 100,000 tons of CO2 annually, according to the event's organizers.
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Based solely on the fact that burning wood releases carbon that has been stored over decades, and can be just as harmful to the environment as burning coal, the event on its most basic level seems like a bad idea to attend for people who profess to care about manmade climate change.
Traditionally, the festival revolves around the burning of giant wooden effigies and sculptures.
Burning Man seems to be full of contradictions. Every year, the event encouragers Burners to carpool instead of taking individual vehicles in order to minimize their carbon footprint.
At the same time, every year the event organizers build and operate the Black Rock City Municipal Airport for 13 days, allowing event goers with the right means to fly their private planes to and from the event.
It is also unclear whether the event's 100,000 tons of CO2 estimate includes the tens of thousands of bikes that are abandoned in the desert at the event every year.
Meanwhile, thousands of bikes get left behind at Burning Man for someone else to deal with. https://t.co/TRWj7Q6qPj pic.twitter.com/3ba7uSvIBo
— Todd Munson (@themunson) September 9, 2022
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But if that number is accurate, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's calculator shows just how much pollution festival goers are emitting.
Burning Man's environmental impact is equivalent to:
- Emissions from 20,188 gas-powered vehicles driven for a year
- 232.5 million miles driven by an average gas-powered vehicle
- 10.2 million gallons of gas consumed
- 8.9 million gallons of diesel
- 101.6 million pounds of coal burned (or 500 railcars' worth of coal)
- 1,201 tanker trucks worth of gas
- Energy use from 11,434 homes for a year
- Electricity use from 17,652 homes for a year
- The electricity needed to charge 11 billion smartphones
To its credit, Burning Man knows about its harm to the environment, and has even drafted a sustainability plan to guide it towards carbon neutrality.
But to offset the amount of carbon dioxide it emits, Burning Man would need the equivalent of:
- 31,000 tons of waste recycled instead of landfilled
- 4,484 garbage trucks of waste recycled instead of landfilled
- 25.2 wind turbines running for a year
- 1.5 million tree seedlings grown for 10 years
- 108,183 acres of U.S. forests
So as photos emerge of the 70,000 Burning Man attendees slogging through mud to escape after being trapped by heavier than usual rain at the event it is important to remember the ecological damage being wrought.
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