Climate and anti-capitalism activists blocked the only entrance into the Burning Man Black Rock City Festival 2023 before gun-toting police roughed them up and rammed their positions. The cops (Paiute tribal officers) were not the only people aggravated at the activists; festivalgoers had plenty of outrage to heap scorn and venom on protestors (it is a global reaction toward climate strikers) as the action delayed their entry into the scorching Black Rock Desert event outside Reno for hours.
Protestors believe global calamity must be averted at all costs and that desperate measures are necessary to stop the irreversible scorching of the Earth. I feel them, though I believe tactics are not always productive.
Sapiens could care less that the planet burns to a crisp; to the smart primate, it is less important than harshing the comfortable lifestyle vibe. Their children and grandchildren will suffer in agony and die. Heck, maybe you and I will as well because the changes hitting populated areas are so rapid now. We have decided collective suicide and eliminating all lifeforms is the way to go, and it won’t be long to wait. Not everyone agrees with me, of course, but I believe if we get it together and act, perhaps we can prevent the worst impacts. The rub is that we are not acting and will not act on the crisis, and to prove my point, there is Project 2025, the Republican plan to dismantle every single climate tool that we have struggled for decades to get on the books. And the Supreme Court, well fuck them, they have put our wetlands (a major carbon sink) on the table for annihilation. I’m labeled a doomer, so enjoy the laser show and psychedelics. The global finale will be epic, and there will be no do-over. Watch out for 2035, baby!
Once the activists were removed and the blockade demolished, a funny thing happened: later, the skies opened with rain bombs that flooded the event, attracting up to 70-80,000 people. The flood ended the festival that had attracted anarchists, hipsters, and free spirits for over three decades but is newly discovered by the likes of Elon Musk technocrats and other celebrities. Many festival attendees gather to partake in hallucinogens and take it all in.
I assume the Biden administration is working on plans to rescue these people stuck in deep mud and disease. I see disaster coming otherwise.
Fox News and other right-wingers were thrilled with the backlash to the activists. The Declare Emergency, XR, Scientist Rebellion, and Rave Revolution activists were vilified across the Intertubes. ("The protesters were calling on festival operators to ban travel by private jets, the use of disposable plastics, and the unlimited use of generators and propane.") Is that too much to ask?
Burning Man, which started as an underground hippie festival and is known worldwide, has become increasingly taken over in recent years with gas-guzzling luxury RVs driven by celebrities and influencers.
"More private jets than ever are flying to the Burn. We're burning propane for fun. The air-conditioned domes are getting bigger every year," said Tommy Diacono, co-founder of Rave Revolution.
From The Guardian:
In recent years, Burning Man has drifted from its hippy roots and become better known for luxury RVs, wild orgies, and Silicon Valley bros. Protestors from the Seven Circles –a coalition of activists representing the climate groups Extinction Rebellion, Rave Revolution, and Scientist Rebellion – demanded that Burning Man ban private jets and single-use plastics, as well as unlimited generator and propane use. Signs painted with the slogans “Burners of the world, unite!”, “Mother Earth needs our help” and “System change” were erected around the blockade, while four activists chained themselves to the trailer and locked arms through PVC pipes.
The festival, which originated as an underground gathering in 1986 in San Francisco, has anarchist and countercultural roots. Unlike at a typical festival, participants build the event themselves, transforming a 4,000-acre dry lake bed into an ephemeral metropolis called Black Rock City, by bringing in their own infrastructure, food, water, and entertainment, in lieu of programmed musical headliners. Burning Man’s radical ethos also mandates that within the event’s grounds, no money can be exchanged, and brands are prohibited from advertising products.
However, in recent years Burning Man has gained a cultish popularity among Silicon Valley’s technocrats, as well as celebrities, influencers and others who treat the gathering as a photogenic opportunity to network, post selfies, and experiment with psychedelic drugs. Many in these moneyed ranks choose to spend the festival in gas-guzzling luxury RVs. Rising temperatures in Black Rock Desert, which hit a record 103F at last year’s edition, have led to an increasing reliance on air conditioning fueled by generators. Concerns over the illegal dumping of trash have led to federal officials capping attendance at 80,000, against the festival’s desire to continue growing.
“Burning Man attracts the elite of the elites to party and pretend they’re in a classless, moneyless society,” said Tommy Diacono, co-founder of Rave Revolution. “But more private jets than ever are flying to the Burn. We’re burning propane for fun. The air-conditioned domes are getting bigger every year.”
From the police to the festivalgoers, all were caught off guard. Burning Man event organizers declared a National Emergency, but they can't. That is a government function. FEMA is on the ground now, however.
Mud and rock from the floods blocked the only road out. So why are they mad at climate activists instead of the fossil fuel companies and their consumption and trashing of the venue site? Well, you will have to ask them, but perhaps mud-soaked, hungry with disease rampant, they likely have had time to reflect on their plight.
There was a preposterous rumor that Ebola had broken out. Instead, hypothermia, stomach bugs, and foodborne illness are likely. The portable toilets are running over, ew.
While well known as the driest state, Nevada has experienced many catastrophic floods. Because a warmer atmosphere can carry more water17,18, the most extreme storms are expected to become even more extreme. For example, projected near-term and long-term changes in peak annual runoff rates (the maximum daily runoff rate occurring during the average year) are projected to increase more than 25% to 50% above historical peak rates across much of the state, especially in and around many mountain ranges.
Meanwhile, EcoWatch writes on the trash left behind by the elites.
Every year, the counterculture festival Burning Man takes over Black Rock Desert in Nevada, where tens of thousands of people come to “lift the human spirit, address social problems, and inspire a sense of culture, community, and civic engagement,” according to the organization’s website. But each year, some festival-goers skip the leave-no-trace principles, and instead illegally dump their garbage and camping equipment in nearby cities, like Reno, for the locals to deal with. Now, even places two hours from the festival site, like Lake Tahoe, are being inundated with Burning Man waste.
In Truckee, a town near Lake Tahoe, local business owners and officials shared their frustrations with those passing through the area after Burning Man who were stopping to dump off their trash.
“What I’ve seen are large construction bags of trash, alcohol bottles, tons of food, tents and large aluminum poles from shade structures,” Mark Lowenstern, owner of Cross Roads Car Wash in Truckee, told SFGate. “People just unload their motor homes. I’ve seen people sometimes spend four to six hours pulling everything out of their vehicles, then wash their cars and their belongings. One camper can fill up half of my capacity.”
Climate activists are the least of our worries in an emergency. Due to the climate crisis, chickens have come home to roost, wouldn’t you agree?
The global warming devastation has only started. Most don't even realize we are in a climate emergency and that billions will die. In fact, this is the first mention in a mainstream publication. The article is really lowballing the carnage, though. But it is truth-telling nonetheless.
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