www.businessinsider.com: Burning Man organizers have three weeks to clean up any remnants of the makeshift city plopped across over 4 square miles (10 square kilometers) of the Black Rock Desert in northwestern Nevada, but a summer storm that left tens of thousands stranded in ankle-deep mud could alter that timeframe.
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It’s interesting how even though the event echoes the ideas of “leave no trace”, that many newer attendees don’t seem to carry this ethos in apparent disregard. I don’t think many people realize that Burning Man is held in a national conservation area and that if the organizers fail to prove that everything is cleaned up to the Bureau of Land Management that they will most likely not get approval to hold the event in Black Rock Desert the following year. I think Burning Man has attracted an audience that is contrary to the original audience of the event (does that make sense, idk). It started as an event for free spirited, counter-culture artist and the such, now many people go to Burning Man to say they went, as NPR says, “[It was] once considered an underground gathering for bohemians and free spirits of all stripes, [but] has since evolved into a destination for social media influencers, celebrities and the Silicon Valley elite.”
As someone who grew up right by where Burning Man started, as well as camping at Black Rock Desert, Burning Man has always been an interesting phenomenon I’ve heard so much about for so many years. Year-round, there are people hanging out on the playa who are diehard “burners” with vehicles decked out Mad Max-style. While I’m sure that the commercialization and commodification of Burning Man over the past several years has certainly led to an increase in garbage that has to be cleaned up, it is incredibly impressive how every year, the organizers remain dedicated to keeping the playa clean at the end, even if the people who aren’t really interested in the whole culture of the festival simply don’t care about packing it out. The cleanliness standard to which the BLM holds Burning Man is truly like no other, and the festival organizers/many of the festival goers truly do care about keeping the playa clean. Fundamentally, I think that a lot of the situation is just unfortunately unlucky due to the weather. I don’t think the article really emphasized just how dangerous it can be. Even when the weather is nice (or at least, as nice as it will get considering it’s a dried lake in the middle of the desert), running out of food/fuel/water or not having shelter is a serious concern. Getting lost as well, since it is not just a big empty clearing, but an overwhelmingly massive location reminiscent of being in the middle of the ocean, where the curvature of the earth stops you from being able to see into the distance. I think that a little bit of slack should be given to many of the festival-goers since sometimes, you just have to prioritize human life and come back for your stuff later.
I have never been to Burning Man, but I viewed it as a community of art, with free expression and celebrating of identities. After reading this article, I see that it is more than that it is also a connection of the environment and the location at which it takes place. The leave no trace idea is very important to me as well, I have been raised to live by this, when going into nature it is always my number one importance to not damage anything, or leave anything, Nature is one thing that we have that holds natural beauty. Of course, weather and other conditions can affect the ability of the atmosphere to end up how it started. However, if we keep this mindset going forward maybe the future of our lands doesn't have to be so grim.
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