Deprogramming Burning Man of wood over the years ahead

[robotland]

Maybe we should make a huge, man-shaped compost pile and then just stare at it for a week. It WOULD put out a lotta heat.....

[theCryptofishist]

Ya know, it would be cool if we became the beetles and during the first few days of the event we each plastered our burnable contributions to a frame. Paper mache wouldn't be polluting, right?

Is shellac the substance you were referring to? Shellac, as the word is commonly used, refers to all forms of purified lac - a natural resin secreted by the tiny lac insect on certain trees, principally in India and Thailand.

Actually, Bob A got right to the heart of it with his question of what the beetles would want.
My beetles were pure and total Kuhsheiss. Shellac was a back of the mind inspiration (and btw, thanks for the full story, I'd never heard it in that detail before) but mostly it was pulling at Felicity for not having bothered with any sort of counter suggestion. I was trying to think of what the most ludicrious, PITA suggestion I could, which would involve a lot of work for all off us. I mean really, if Felicity had at least wanted to talk about sustainable harvest lumber. . . (Although, Bob A, I was also thinking of those sustainable butterfly harvest to save the rainforest as I invented details.)
I love some of the other suggestions too--that compost heap is wonderful in it's own way. Can you imagine the DPW coming out every evening and turning it, as it gently steams away. ARe there any phosphoresant decomposers?

[blyslv]

Instead of wood, what should we use for our burn-related art activities?

[theCryptofishist]

Instead of wood, what should we use for our burn-related art activities?

Fossil Fuel, of course. (The Petrified Forest needs thinning. . .)

[dragonfly Jafe]

Trees are pretty far down the food chain.....And they are a renewable resource.

same could be said about most hippies. Too bad they don't burn like aviation fuel... regards, Jafe

[dragonfly Jafe]

Instead of wood, what should we use for our burn-related art activities?

Hydrogen (it's the future!)

[Desert Duck]

i HAVE A BETTER IDEA let's all start brewing our own hard alcohol so we have something to burn when everything else is gone

[Jordan 10-E]

We could just stop burning anything and call it "No-Burning Man".

I for one am grateful for the trees giving of themselves to bring so many people together and helping to creat such a magical place. Probably one of the best uses ever for a tree.

[Badger]

Probably one of the best uses ever for a tree.

Maybe, but I can think of one better...

http://uk.geocities.com/osfuk/osf/treb.html

[Ancient]

Trees deserve to be burned. The commie bastards just lie around all day soaking up sunlight without lifting a single branch to work for their sustenance . That might not necessarily be cause to set them aflame, but they're invading our wilderness’ and infiltrating our neighborhoods. I look outside every day and see them planting themselves firmly in the yards of my neighbors, as they have planted in the yards of your neighbors, and they may even be right outside your window terrifying your children. We chop them down and they keep growing back, gaining the support of the Green party. Sometimes dragging their militants out to the desert and dancing naked around their warm flaming bodies is the only warning they'll understand. See any trees on the Playa? It's working. FIGHT THE LEAFY MENACE!! GOD BLESS BURNING MAN!!

[TommyTheCat]

Badger...that is a wonderful idea for those damn pesky trees. Lets get started on it right away. I get the first ride though.....WEEEEEEEEE

[DangerMouse]

Maybe, but I can think of one better...

Burning Treb?

[DeadlyKungFu]

"If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason."
-Jack Handy

[Isotopia]

Badger...that is a wonderful idea for those damn pesky trees. Lets get started on it right away. I get the first ride though.....WEEEEEEEEE

You might have to get to the back of the line for that ride. I think Badger's mentioned before that it's a way of dealing with clueless ravers.

[BAS]

Darn! I'm clueless(*) but not a raver.... Maybe I could be half-heartedly launched?

(*) ... and, according to a small child, a knucklehead.

Darn trees! Polluting the wilderness with their dead leaves, twigs, and stuff!!!

[Ugly Dougly]

Mark my words, simulated fire, simulated nudity. It is your future.

[dj big E]

Definately we are in need of more fire . Bigger is allways better when it come's to fire. FIRE FIRE FIRE we need more !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[birdbrain]

Hemp, Hemp, and more Hemp: Giant strands of hemp made into the mega-man, the mega-temple, the whatever....and the beetle juice could be used to hold it together when knots wouldn't do...so eco-friendly and essentially non-toxic!

[arthurz]

We burned a big art piece filled with 5 cords of wood on Thursday night. Most of the wood came from thinning a forest to prevent forest fires. If not harvested, the wood would still have burned, whenever lightning struck. A lot more people got to enjoy the fire our way, and we'll probably do it again next year.

Now, have you thought about all the natural resources consumed and the pollution created in order to supply all the propane consumed by the event? And how long it takes to replenish propane versus wood? Maybe all fires should be wood...

[Badger]

Hmmmm.... I wonder where the original poster went. Doesn't look like s/he's been back since phase 1 of the online carpet bombing.

Oh well, I wish wood was made of magnesium.

[arthurz]

Yeah magnesium!!! Now that shit can really burn...

[Simply Joel]

speaking of burning.... thread drift... i finished the privacy fence, 108 foot across the back (north) yard... gotta a plan for a elevated burn pad and tiki torches at every post....

burn baby burn... wood, the renewable resource.

[HighPriestofUranus]

The reason people object to your idea is that it is extremist. There is a difference between caring for the Earth and being a Playa Nazi. IMO we the people who really do care retain the right to BURN (which is central to so many of us, at least as a ritual and for many it's a much deeper spiritual event.) Burning a few large scale wooden art projects is NOTHING compared to mass overconsumption of wood products and the mass pollution that is going on around the world because of the greedy who are in power and who really DON'T care about the Earth... I think BurningMan DOES set the right example: We burn, we appreciate deeply the beauty of the elements of nature (and therefore are closer to Earth), and then we clean up.

Leave No Trace is a good motto. But in reality it is impossible for any human being to live on this planet and truly LNT. Your human waste and impact is always felt somewhere. The Earth has it's AMAZING ability to absorb a hell of a lot of shit from the various life forms it supports. IMO, the idea is to find a balance and be respectful, but not fanatical. Go fight against the rain forest depletion if you really wanna make a difference.

I plan to BURN even more wood next year. I plan to bring a sculpture made of dead trees, and some 2x4's as well. Because the industrial power structure we live within has brutally damaged the Earth way beyond what many of us feel is acceptable, does not mean I will give up my intrinsic right to be profoundly inspired by this element of nature (FIRE).

BTW, burning a gas supports fossil fuels. Burning wood happens naturally on the planet all the time.

-HPU

[arthurz]

Yeah baby! Can't wait to see your big wood art burn!!!

One of the reasons we did a big mid-week burn this year was to inspire others to do it, and we're hoping to see big wood fires every night next year! Especially if the bulk of the wood is found, recycled, or otherwise not indirectly preventing some family from having a shelter.

We used a new playa protection method for our burn consisting of thin sheet steel over a grid of concrete cinder blocks and it worked GREAT - unlike the decomposed granite & kevlar sheet used by the other burns that eats up a huge chunk of landfill space when disposed of, our used sheet metal was carted off by an artist to create another project, and our cinder blocks were donated to DPW for use in a future burn platform or other construction project. We'll post more details on this later as it seems like a "best practices" advance and being from Silicon Valley we have this crazy need to push technologies...

Burn on!

[arthurz]

Yeah baby! Can't wait to see your big wood art burn!!!

One of the reasons we did a big mid-week burn this year was to inspire others to do it, and we're hoping to see big wood fires every night next year! Especially if the bulk of the wood is found, recycled, or otherwise not indirectly preventing some family from having a shelter.

We used a new playa protection method for our burn consisting of thin sheet steel over a grid of concrete cinder blocks and it worked GREAT - unlike the decomposed granite & kevlar sheet used by the other burns that eats up a huge chunk of landfill space when disposed of, our used sheet metal was carted off by an artist to create another project, and our cinder blocks were donated to DPW for use in a future burn platform or other construction project. We'll post more details on this later as it seems like a "best practices" advance and being from Silicon Valley we have this crazy need to push technologies...

Burn on!