Burning Man is a celebration of life through art, experimentation and freedom of self expression. It takes place during a weeklong,
annual event in the Northwestern Nevada desert of the United States. This event now gathers as many as 45,000 happy people .
In its recent history Burning Man has become more conscious of the environment. The growing number of attendees has increased the effort to reduce the ecological impact of the event itself. And an increasing effort has been made to foucus performances and themes at the event to include environmental issues.

In 2007, Burning Man was named “The Green Man”. During the preparation and the event itself. A sequence of interesting events unfolded around the topic. For many it was hard to ignore the absurdity of “the green man” event, in which tons of material brought to the desert is burned for pleasure. Art and expression somehow emerged out of this irony with strong symbolism evoking the collective imagination.

The “green” events seemed overwhelmed by the bigger picture at hand. In the extreme climate of the Nevada desert it was impossible not to think about nature and how it infl uences our lives. During the week of the event we witnessed 120 F days, 60 F nights, a lunar eclipse, sand storms, rain, a double rainbow, and lightening. Many climatic conditions were packed into our 6-day trip. Living exposed to the elements in our temporary community we were humbled by the power of nature. Ironically during the last twenty four hours of this “green” event, three major venues were burned, using gallons of fuel that was wasted in order to destroy tons of precious natural resources. During these acts, the event seems to struggle between a serious collective consciousness and lightheartenedness.