Parade of renewable energy powered vehicles

[SkeletonMan]

How many miles do you get on a charge on an old golf cart or whatnot? Are battery swaps in the spirit of the parade?

If the parade is about CO2 emissions, then I cannot imagine that golf-carts being charged on generators would be in the spirit of the parade.

Battery powered vehicles would definitely be welcome as would all "alternative fuel powered vehicles", ie. vehicles you don't fill up with gasoline.

[BBadger]

How many miles do you get on a charge on an old golf cart or whatnot? Are battery swaps in the spirit of the parade?

If the parade is about CO2 emissions, then I cannot imagine that golf-carts being charged on generators would be in the spirit of the parade.

Battery powered vehicles would definitely be welcome as would all "alternative fuel powered vehicles", ie. vehicles you don't fill up with gasoline.

Way to miss the entire point of 5280MeV's post. The ultimate irony is what you chose to quote from it as well.

[SkeletonMan]

I have a question about your route- MV's are supposed to stay off the streets unless they're on their way to the open playa. You might want to check with someone at the org about the "c" part of the parade.

From the Driving Rules in Black Rock City portion of vehicle protocols:

No driving on pedestrian-designated streets (see your map for details)

"Letter" streets are considered pedestrian-designated.

Thanks for the heads up!

[SkeletonMan]

Way to miss the entire point of 5280MeV's post. The ultimate irony is what you chose to quote from it as well.

Okay. Looks like you and I won't get to see eye to eye on this thing. Fair enough.

We are inviting MVs whose onboard engine is not gasoline powered. I can't put it any more plain than that.

[gyre]

Check with Jim Mason about Mechabolic.
It was an enormous vehicle though.

There have been coal burning vehicles on the playa too.

[BBadger]

Way to miss the entire point of 5280MeV's post. The ultimate irony is what you chose to quote from it as well.

Okay. Looks like you and I won't get to see eye to eye on this thing. Fair enough.

We are inviting MVs whose onboard engine is not gasoline powered. I can't put it any more plain than that.

I thought this was a "renewable-energy-powered vehicle" parade? So now you're just diluting it to a "non-gasoline engine parade" despite the fact that the batteries are usually charged by gasoline-powered generators? Or do you consider a battery "renewable energy" because you can recharge it?

This parade gets more discredited by the moment. At least before you had a formal "cause" even if misapplied.

[SkeletonMan]

I thought this was a "renewable-energy-powered vehicle" parade? So now you're just diluting it to a "non-gasoline engine parade" despite the fact that the batteries are usually charged by gasoline-powered generators? Or do you consider a battery "renewable energy" because you can recharge it?

This parade gets more discredited by the moment. At least before you had a formal "cause" even if misapplied.

We're not diluting anything. The basis for the project is entirely the same since the first blog I posted.

I'm biting my lip whether I really need to explain this again but, frankly, I don't care if I can convince you or not.

My only interest in this thread is if drivers of MVs whose onboard vehicle is not powered by gasoline would like to meet with similar vehicles and flash them in a parade?

Please, for the love of GOD, if you're out there can we move on with the debate!

[Pop_Tart]

I once heard that burners with renewable energy powered vehicles do not use eplaya in an attempt to reduce their carbon footprint. Also, perhaps you should have the human powered vehicles and bikes drive a CH4 to celebrate their individual methane emmissions...

On a fun side note, I wonder how many dollars of 'carbon offsets' would be needed to compensate for one year of the Burning Man event. Per Wikipedia: "One carbon offset represents the reduction of one metric ton of carbon dioxide or its equivalent in other greenhouse gases." It looks like the going rate is about $5.71 per metric ton for individuals. Maybe Black Rock Solar should jump on that bandwagon...

[theCryptofishist]

If you want to look at the Environmental Assessment they do give an estimate for the greenhouse gasses. It's half what they would have to account for in the EA. I'm not sure how they came up with that.

[deanmartin]

Any awareness project is not in itself usually living up to the information that it state.
To get the information and the statement out there, you would sometimes need ressources.
To get a statement out, you also need to use the platforms available.

Hopefully a parade like this would give participants a little twist in their thoughts and future actions they are taking with them out in the default world. If just they leave the playa knowing that somebody out there cares about the climate change while having fun doing it, the parade could not have been a greater succes.

I do not a second think that a parade like this is hypocritical. It is doing something rather than keep on singing that old song.

BM is full of ideologies and statements - cause it is full of people.

One year there was art projects stating the meaningless of the war against Iraq. The ressources it took to create and set up these art pieces at BM have been depended on the use of oil - was that then hypocritical?

Organizations that works to save the rainforest, put in ads in news papers. Newspapers that uses paper made from trees -is that hypocritical?

Initiatives to get people to use less electricity sometimes uses light billboards to get their message out - is that hypocritical?

Large demonstrations we've seen during the COP-meetings around the world have gathered thousands of people - an impact in use of ressources that if these people have stayed indoor and never turned up at the demonstration would have been minimized. Is demonstrations like that then hypocritical?

The first windmill that was produced, was produced by the usage of oil - Was that hypocritical?

You have to start somewhere.

If a parade like this can state that it is possible to run a MV on electricity (some charged by solar panels, some by generators) the final statement and the awareness coming out of it is in my mind by far larger in effect and impact than doing nothing at all. Hopefully the person that have build and drives an electrical vehicle that was charged by a generator meet another person at the parade that have used solar panels. There might be a chance that next time that person have changed his generator out with a solar panel. It is that hope we must believe in to change things to a better. While having fun doing it.

I understand (I do however not appreciate it) if people just wants to have fun regardless of the consequences. My hope is though, that awareness and responsibility can be fun at the same time. That more and more principles, ideas and statements like "Don't Let It Hit The Ground" (that follows me in my everyday life in the default world thanks to BM) can live and grow and spread out...

Go for the ball - not the man...