Participate! A Contest by TH and Current TV to Get You - And Your Best Eco-Ideas - to the Burning Man Event
by Sean Fisher, Cincinnati, Ohio 
on 07.27.07
Burning Man, the 40,000 person celebration of art and self-expression that takes place in Nevada's Black Rock Desert for one week each year, is the world's largest Leave No Trace event. This experimental city is built from the ground up - then completely dismantled by its participants. This year's theme, the Green Man, explores humankind's relationship with nature, the future of our planet, and the ideas that could take us all to the next level.
Because of what Burning Man is, Burners (the attendees and devotees) are from all walks of life. It doesn’t matter where they work or live - what Burners share is a value system devoted to changing the world through connectivity and information sharing.
So what happens when Burners from organizations like TreeHugger, Burning Man, and Current TV cross paths?
We exchange ideas and information, of course. Which makes us realize, the people we connect to everyday (hey, that’s you!) must have some pretty good ideas, too. And that’s when we came up with this contest—an effort to help drive your world-changing idea out of your imagination, into life, and onto the playa.
The Question
Got an idea that could help solve the world's most pressing environmental issues? Something that would revolutionize the way we drive, eat, build, live, build, or...something else? Want to share it with the world? Your idea could be featured at the Burning Man event, where the winning open-source project will be displayed alongside other breakthrough ideas and technologies addressing important issues such as climate change, pollution, green building design, and much, much more. The winner will win two tickets to Burning Man, and the project will also be featured on CurrentTV during their "TV Free Burning Man" coverage of the event. (Check out previous “TV Free Burning Man” episodes here.)
The Big Idea
The main requirement for submissions is simply that the project be open-source. That is, you'll give everyone at the event a chance to access your idea freely, then theoretically assess, dissect, remix, and build upon it. In doing so, you become part of the mash-up of all of the environmentally-oriented art, science, and breakthrough technologies that will be on display at this year's 30,000-square-foot Green Man Pavilion. We want to place your idea among some of the most innovative open-source ideas in the world, letting you share the thoughts that can help shape our future.
The Details
Send a digital representation and explanation of your idea to contest [at] treehugger [dot] com by August 11. (Got questions? Shoot an email to that same address.) Our preference is for 3-D models, but just because you haven't yet built a prototype of your Solar-Powered Robot That Will Save the World doesn't mean you can't enter; we'll happily accept your 2-D renderings as well. Only got a sketch of that car that runs on organic banana peels? No problem, Dr. Brown, as long as we can understand the concept, that's okay, too. The winning entry will be the one that best helps solve an environmental problem. Now go on, get going!
Judging
A panel of judges from TreeHugger, Burning Man, and Current TV will choose the winning entry, which will be announced two weeks prior to the event.
Thanks for reading. Now, Participate!
What Is Burning Man?
Trying to explain what Burning Man is to someone who has never been to the event is a bit like trying to explain what a particular color looks like to someone who is blind. Click here to learn about the peripheral definitions of what the event is as a whole, but to truly understand this event, one must participate. The Burning Man web site serves to try to paint a picture of the Burning Man experience to those who are new to the project, as well as to give those participants looking to keep the fire burning in their daily lives an environment in which to connect to their fellow community members. For a brief yet eloquent overview of the entire event from the time of arrival to the time of exodus, please read "What is Burning Man?", an essay written by participant and one-time web team member, Molly Steenson. Please see archived sections for each year to read more about the art themes, art installations and theme camps for each year.
Also, be sure to check out TreeHugger's previous take on this unique event and TH Radio's program about the greening of Burning Man.
What Is Current TV?
Current, which launched Current TV in August 1, 2005, is the first network created by, for and with an 18-34 year-old audience. The network shows young adults what's going on in their world, in their voice. Current is also the first network in history whose programming is supplied in part by the very audience who watches it. It has developed the television industry's leading model of "viewer created content" (VC2), which comprises roughly one-third of Current's on-air broadcast, and allows the audience to submit short-form, nonfiction video "pods," "viewer created ads" (V-CAMs), and mobile video. Its award-winning programming ranges from the hottest trends in technology, fashion, music and videogames, to pressing issues such as the environment, relationships, parenting, finance, politics and spirituality. Current is available in 50 million households worldwide via the five largest distributors, including Comcast (channel 107 nationwide), Time Warner Cable, DirecTV (channel 366 nationwide), Dish Network (channel 196 nationwide), BSkyB (Channel 229) and Virgin Media Cable (channel 155).
TreeHuggers may also remember Current TV for their "60 Seconds to Save the Earth" contest announced at Live Earth.
For more information, please visit the website: www.current.tv
Follow @TreeHugger on Twitter & get our headlines with @TH_rss!
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I have an eco idea... Don't go to Burning Man. Their "leave no trace" policy is in concept only and really only pertains to little scraps of feathers boas. Not only is BM an "experimental city built from the ground up - then completely dismantled by its participants." Its a city that is dismantled and burned every year. You can barely breathe the day after BM when everyone burns their art projects, camps, waste paper, anything that will burn, not to mention the continuous propane burning for art pieces, gas for generators so burners can party in A/C comfort in the desert, transportation for 40,000 people to the middle of nowhere, no recycling, etc. etc. A green BM is total BS.
Props on that first comment. i have always been tempted to go to burning man, but when i heard about the burning it was a no go for me. All that burning in an ecosystem like the dessert (that seems barren but is far from it) is not good for the soil, air or animals that actually call the area their permanent home.
(esp burning synthetics like paint - ugh)
Come on guys - big picture....?
The pedantic greenie will be laughed upon in years to come - you have to 'light the fire' so to speak and that means exciting everyone to participate in a cause....
Oh if you do stay at home - make sure you are on 100% renewable green power - then when you read your daily Treehugger feed - you wont be burnign any fossil or nuclear fuels.
I'm with 1 and 2. If you need burning man to get behind environmentalism, you should have a 1 minute conversation with a rainbow kid. We have a whole cross section of society that is drug addicted and misinformed calling themselves environmentalist. i hope you all have fun with all the burning and disrespect in the desert. Here is my idea, call off burning man, save a cajillion co2 emmitions and some braincells, i need all i can keep.
Michelle Davegan wrote: "animals that actually call the area their permanent home"
One of the reasons why BM is on the playa is that nothing lives there. Like all places on earth, I am sure there are some microorganisms, but no plants or animals. If you see a bird or squirrel or any animal where BM takes place, you can safely call that animal dead. They will not survive.
nasa 1 wrote: "call off burning man, save a cajillion co2 emmitions and some braincells"
BM is not the worst culprit as far as CO2 emissions go. There is a lot of solar power out there, my camp is primarily powered by wind, solar, and burnt biomass. I am not going to say that it doesn't have a large footprint, but so does NASCAR, Disneyland, Sturgis, and any other event that draws a large crowd.
I know a number of CEOs of amazing green companies who attend Burning Man and learn from the state experiences they have there. Several fortune 500 companies prefer to hire burners because of their creativity and ability to innovate. Just because a person goes out to the desert for a week and experiences a new perspective on reality does not mean they are a drug addict.
Burnered Out wrote: "burners can party in A/C comfort in the desert, transportation for 40,000 people to the middle of nowhere, no recycling"
Very few camps actually have A/C. There are places that do, but for the most part people build shad structures, wear appropriate clothing, and occasionally squirt each other with misters to keep cool.
Lots of people carpool and for many this is their major vacation for the year. So how is this different than their family taking a road trip to any other destination? Also, people fly, take the greyhound, and amtrak. So they utilize mass transportation.
There is recycle camp that will recycle some things, I think cans. Also, it is a self reliant event, so there is no trash either. You have to take it all home. So if people don't chose to take it home and recycle it is not BM's fault, it is the fault of the people who don't care enough to recycle and probably wouldn't recycle anywhere else either.
I think it's very hard for people who obviously have not been to BM to criticize it. Come see for yourself. There are ways of being contentious about our resource usage at this event. That is what the Green Man is about, it's about minimizing our footprint. It is about reconsidering how we do things so that we can live more harmoniously with nature. It's not about martyrdom, it's about stewardship.