And so will everything else.
It's easy to dismiss the unprecedented rains at Burning Man — a weeklong desert camp-out that is part dance party, part art festival, part bacchanal — as a chance to poke fun at attendees. |
But what actually transpired is gnarlier and more interesting. On one hand, the experience was still meaningful — for many of us "burners," the muddy "playa" called us to service: feeding and caring for one another and keeping the dancing going. On the other hand, it underscored the current realities of our planet's changing climate. |
This is the second Burning Man in a row that had challenging weather conditions. Last year, daytime temperatures were so intense that it felt dangerous to work in the sun, compromising the ritual of setting up camps and public art. White-out dust storms — a normal occurrence in the Black Rock Desert — were so fierce and frequent that attendees had to shelter for hours at a time, over and over again. |
Burning Man is an event where intense, hostile conditions have typically been a feature, not a bug. In such a harsh place, there's a delightful contrast when you stumble across fun, beauty and camaraderie (or better yet, when you create these elements together). But now, thanks to rising global temperatures, the Black Rock Desert could be shifting from almost uninhabitable to totally incompatible with human activity. It wouldn't be the first place to go through this change, and it won't be the last. |
In a guest essay for Times Opinion, I write about why Burning Man must change in response to the climate crisis — and how we can draw from the tradition itself for guidance as it does. |
Here's what we're focusing on today: |
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