Search Results for: "Burning Man"

August 28, 2013

Plastic-Free Burning Man — The List, Part 2

Yesterday I detailed the outside of my Burning Man setup. Today I’ll tell you about the inside.

Bed

I’m using the vintage wood, canvas, and steel camping cot I blogged about after my night at the aquarium last year..

I didn’t figure out a plastic-free sleeping bag, and the truth is, the purple polyester (or maybe it’s nylon… not sure at this point) bag I bought back in the early 90’s still works great. Why replace it?

Floor Covering

Since the bottom of my tent is vinyl (ick), I wanted to cover it with natural fiber rugs. Second-hand would have been best, but this was kind of last minute, and I needed enough to cover a10x10 space, so instead of rugs, I opted for a felted rug pad made from recycled carpets and other recycled fabrics. It’s very, very soft, but probably a mix of synthetic and natural fibers. It was very affordable too. Purchased from Dick’s Carpet in Berkeley. It’s really trippy look… Read the rest

August 27, 2013

Plastic-Free Burning Man – The List, Part 1

I only had two hours sleep last night after driving 12 hours, but I want to post these pictures and give you the list of ways I’m de-plastifying my Burn this year.

I’m staying with the Earth Guardians… which is part of the Burning Man infrastructure tasked with making the event as green as possible.

If you’re on the playa, stop by and say hi, leave me a message in the little notebook attached to my tent, or come to one of my workshops, either Wednesday at 1 or Saturday at 2.

Here’s the outside view of my little home on the playa:

Tent

The tent is a Springbar Traveler 5, which is made of heavy duty cotton canvas. I put it up this morning with the help of an expert named Kearce. But it was me who pounded all 18 twelve-inch steel stakes into the hard playa.

Here are the pros and cons of a Springbar tent. Pros:

*Mostly heavy duty cotton instead of synthetic material. *Super strong, stable, and durable. According to comments online from B… Read the rest

August 19, 2013

It’s the Burning Man Plastic Footprint Project!

Last year was my first trip to Black Rock City and the annual Burning Man festival of art, fire, and radical creativity, as well as dust storms, cracked feet, and dry, bloody boogers.  I can’t wait to go back. This year, I’ll be part of the Earth Guardians’ Plastic Footprint project — combining art and education about plastic-free living.  Today, I’ll tell you about the art and associated workshops we have planned. Tomorrow, I’ll share all the new plastic-free solutions I’ve discovered for Burning Man this year. I’ve been researching my head off.  Really, my brain hurts right now.

Plastic Footprint Project — At Burning Man and Incline Village

SCROLL DOWN the page for the list of our Plastic-Free Workshops and events next week.  But first, the art…

Annie Clark, an artist and art teacher in Nevada’s Washoe County School District, contacted me this past spring after … Read the rest

September 11, 2012

Plastic-Free Sunscreen that Passes the Burning Man Test

As someone with fair skin that burns within just a few minutes, I’ve used heavy duty sunscreen in plastic tubes for years.  And even after going plastic-free, I’ve found sunscreen to be a challenge.  I blogged about sun protection a while back and got some great suggestions from you guys.  And this year, I discovered a couple of companies making all natural, non-toxic, plastic-free (or nearly plastic-free) sunscreen.   I even saw a demonstration on how to make your own!  And what better place to test out various sun protection methods than the hot, dry playa at Burning Man?

Radical States of Dress

Before I talk about sunscreen, though, I want to discuss other practical methods of sun protection.  The first: clothing.  Burning Man is known for radical costumes, as well as states of undress.  Yeah, I saw a lot of nudity.  I also saw a lot of sunburns.  So I decided to be radical in my own way (one of BM’s tenets, after all, i… Read the rest

August 23, 2012

My Plastic-Free Burning Man Adventure

I’m a virgin.  A Burning Man virgin.  Ever since I learned about the annual tribal celebration of fire and self-expression back in the mid 90’s, I have wanted to go and hang out in the Black Rock Desert and express myself.   But I’ve never had a friend who wanted to go with me, until recently, when I met Tracey TieF through this very blog.  And that’s appropriate because this year when I go, I’m going to be thinking of ways to do it as Plastic-Free as possible.  And what’s more, I’ll be teaching a Plastic-Free class through the Play(a)Skool!

Carrying Water

At Burning Man, participants are required to bring their own water to the playa, which is a very hot and dry place, with temperatures reaching into the hundreds and chances of dust storms (which I hear we will be having this year.)  You can imagine, there are a lot of plastic water containers at this event.  Many people will bring reusable plastic ju… Read the rest

March 21, 2018

Mission to Alleviate Poverty and Plastic Waste in Haiti Ends in Trauma

A few days ago, I received a shocking email from my dear friend Burning Man campmate, art teacher Ann Clark.

You may remember Annie from the Plastic Footprint Project that she organized with her students to bring awareness to the problems of plastic pollution through art.  After retiring from teaching, Annie made several trips to Haiti, first to help build a school and next, to do art therapy with abused/neglected children.  During her stay, she became aware of the huge problem of plastic waste in that country.

This month, she returned to Haiti to continue her art therapy work and also help solve the plastic pollution problem.  We had a great Skype chat all about her plans, and she sent me lots of pictures to share on this blog from previous trips.  But life intervened, and I hadn’t had time to post those pictures and tell you about her latest project.  Then, a few nights ago, I received some very sad news.  After arriving in Haiti earlier this mo… Read the rest

December 27, 2016

Homemade Plastic-Free Beef Jerky

It’s super easy to make your own beef jerky.  But before I get into how, let me explain why.  Beef jerky (or any kind of jerky, for that matter) is not something I normally eat or even think about.  But in 2015, while planning for the annual Burning Man festival in the Black Rock Desert, I wanted to find a good source of protein that would hold up in the weather without refrigeration or plastic packaging.  And knowing that I would be camping with Zero Waste guru Bea Johnson (a very exciting story for another day), I wanted to do more than simply stock up on trail mix and dry soups from the bulk bins, which is what I’ve lived on in previous years.… Read the rest

April 20, 2016

Buying and Storing Meat without Plastic

For four long years, I ate only a vegetarian diet, and the only meat I bought was for our cats (who are obligate carnivores.)  In fact, I wrote a very reasoned and heartfelt blog post about why I decided to become a vegetarian.  But while my heart and mind loved the idea of being a vegetarian, my body didn’t.

Two years ago, I started doing accounting for a family-owned, local, sustainable Bay Area meat and restaurant company.  For the first six months, I remained a vegetarian, despite being surrounded by meat.  And when I say “meat,” I mean whole animal carcasses brought in from local farms to be processed by the skilled butchers at our company.  Somehow, seeing the actual animals and knowing where they came from made it easier to consider eating meat again.  And one night at work, exhausted and hungry, I went ahead and ate some organic, pastured, heritage turkey leftover from the holidays.  And I noticed that I actually … Read the rest

November 23, 2015

New (and Old) Tools to Eliminate Plastic Straws

By now, many or most of you have seen the shocking viral video of a sea turtle with a plastic drinking straw stuck up its nose and the team of ocean researchers attempting to pull it out.  I don’t normally like to begin posts with gruesome images, but in this case, I’m hoping this video will not simply horrify you but also fill your heart with compassion and spur you to action.  It’s 8 minutes long, and if you have the patience to watch the entire thing, it’s worth it.… Read the rest

September 14, 2013

Celebrating the Sun

Aloha. I’m writing this post high above the Pacific Ocean on my way to Hawaii. I’m thinking about how I’m increasing my carbon footprint this month with so much travelling. And I’m also thinking about the carbon footprint of Burning Man. This will be my final Burning Man post for the year, and hopefully it will be a good one. (I didn’t go to bed last night, so we’ll see what comes through my index finger as I Swype the screen on my Android phone.)

Burning Man is all about burning carbon.  During the week, people erect beautiful wooden sculptures that they’ve spent all year constructing…

only to burn them a few days later.  … Read the rest