Step Two: Change the Change
By Jenn Breckenridge

“In the absence of an unlikely change in the nature of humanity, buying bamboo shirts or sustainable furniture is like spitting at a forest fire.” Timely words by Alex Steffen, Executive Editor of the evolutionary eco think tank, WORLDCHANGING. I agree, Mr. Steffen, buying green stuff isn’t the only answer to healing the planet, so now what? The US mainstream is aware of major climate issues and the continuing decimation of our air, water and soil quality by corporate and governmental entities. Al Gore’s number one offering to reverse global warming has been to change a light bulb. Thank you Al. Live Earth, in the face of the mass decimation of our planet, has taken civic action one step further by asking citizens to change four light bulbs, as well as shopping for energy efficient electronics and shutting off lights when they’re not in use. Umm…okaaaay. A lot of folks have changed their light bulbs from incandescents to CFL’s. World still not saved? Darn it! Well, what next?
Read the rest of this entry »

So Colin Beavan is a great guy (even though he calls his blog No Impact Man instead of No Impact Human or No Impact Family, but that’s another story). He is doing an experiment to make zero negative impact on the earth for one full year. He has a daily blog (the only daily blog I subscribe to), he’s writing a No Impact Man book and “they” are making a movie about him. Colin’s experiment has been featured on the big morning talk shows and in the major newspapers. His newest idea is that humans are not innately selfish thoughtless machines of destructive consumption, but just good folks who got the wrong message over the last fifty years that wasting resources was okay and, in fact, good. Colin says we just need to change the message. Here’s the first in a series of Colin’s fresh messages, that he says we’re all welcome to pass around, and if we want, we should create our own and send them to him. I like this proactive message altering scheme. Please enjoy.

By Lorna Li at LornaLi.com

Burning Man, the annual arts festival that takes place in the remote Black Rock Desert, attracts approximately 40,000 participants, and is Nevada’s tenth largest city, for one week. As a 4th year Burner, I returned to Burning Man after a hiatus of 3 years, with high hopes that Burning Man was finally evolving out of its flamboyant and hedonistic paradigm into a model of eco-conscious social engagement, embodied by its 2007 theme “Green Man.”I must say that, while I had a blast, I was disappointed by the Green-ness of Green Man. But, having arrived at Black Rock Desert in a gas guzzling RV with 4 other friends, I will be the first to admit it ain’t easy making Burning Man Green.

Comparing notes with other eco-conscious Burners, it seemed that the Green element seemed to be somewhat weak.

The 30,000 square foot Green Pavilion showcased emerging Green technologies in a manner much like a high school science project, rather than a “World Fair” of clean technologies. Artistic models and interactive displays were explained by billboards that most were too hung-over or ADD in the highly distracting Burning Man environment to read.

An alternative solution to greenhouse gases - use bags of bubbling CO2 absorbing liquid algae. Read the rest of this entry »

Well, as most of you know, BCP ran a biodiesel shuttle bus to Burning Man this year, transporting riders the 2+ hours from Reno Int’l Airport to the playa and back. This was the first run of this pilot program and it was an amazing success!!! Peter (www.teacherwiththebus.com) was an incredible driver: reliable, kind, relaxed, and safe. The riders were a spectacular array of eco-conscious superstars. The BIOBUS was both a good time and a great step towards more sustainable transport to Black Rock City. If you rode with us this year, THANK YOU SO MUCH. If you didn’t get the opportunity, please check out the schedule next year, which we will release June 1, 2008.

Please share your BIOBUS 07 experience in the comment section below. Also, send your photos from your journey to connect@burncleanproject.org.

StopGlobalWarming.MSN.com: Burning Man 2007 collectively replaced 8,000 gallons of petroleum with biodiesel, not the 40,000 gallons that was projected several months before the burn.

WORLDCHANGING.com: The BIOBUS information they had was outdated. The fare was $55-65 each way and the driver of the bus was Teacher With The Bus, not Biofuels 4 Schools, though that was the original plan.

Greening Man

Annual festival of radical self-expression goes green

By Kate Sheppard
August 28, 2007

Each year, some 40,000 artists, techies, free spirits and innovators descend upon a former lake bed in the Nevada desert for one week, building from nothing a city that will be their home for the week. They’ll eat, sleep, play, build and create here, and after the week is over, vanish back into their everyday lives, leaving not a trace of their city behind. Oh, and they will burn the effigy of a giant man.

But this year at Burning Man, they’re going green — right down to the Man himself.

This year’s theme is “Green,” representing an exploration of mankind’s relationship to nature. From encouraging “burners” to offset their travel, to running the generators on biodiesel, to composting coffee grounds and feeding compost to a 120-foot-long mechanical slug that converts it into fuel, the green theme this year is all-encompassing.

Read the rest of this entry »