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TLDR: This is a much needed, super-amazing initiative and you should be a part of of it! Here’s a quick summary of the strategy:
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From a birds-eye view, this project is about decarbonizing Freezer Burn as much as possible. This includes both Freezer Burn operations as well as the individual choices made within theme camps and by free campers. Not only will this help lessen the substantial environmental footprint the overall event produces but it will also help make Freezer Burn more accessible for everyone.
Why is this important? Well, in case you haven’t heard, the outside world is in a bit of a pickle. Our planet’s climate is changing at an increasingly rapid pace and (most) nations around the world are starting to listen to science and take action. As global citizens and as stewards of future generations, we have a moral obligation to do our part, and live in a lighter, less-impactful way with our planet.
It should be acknowledged that the cost of attending and participating at Freezer Burn can be costly. Depending on your transportation, camping setup, participation expectations (like making and bringing art), eating habits and all those costumes, the cost adds up really quickly. Greening your Burn provides an opportunity for participants to think through the benefit of spending more money on one year so that they save in the following years. What if your food cost less AND was easy to prepare ahead of time AND wasn’t based entirely on Doritos and bacon? (No shade on Doritos OR bacon; they’re great but by day 3, we’re all feeling the consequences.)
Just like the Burning Man Project’s 2030 Environmental Sustainability Strategy, Green Freezer Burn is an “open-source” project, meaning that a small group will help steer the overall initiative (the “Steering Committee”) but all of the action comes from Alberta burner participants! Green Freezer Burn will provide support, guidance, resources and perhaps most importantly, motivation to get’r done!
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It’s time to rally the significant intellectual, creative, and financial resources of the Alberta Burning Man community to develop, proliferate, and scale environmental sustainability solutions at Freezer Burn and beyond.
aka Lets make Freezer Burn a cleaner and more affordable event for everyone!
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This organizational document is intended to guide future action. However, this document will not create delicious plant-based food, generate renewable energy, plant new trees or any of the countless other things needed to reduce carbon emissions, make the Fraya more comfortable in extreme weather or lower the overall financial cost of attending the event. Those things happen when participants practice Immediacy and just start now. There’s always ways to improve how something is done but we won’t let perfection be the enemy of good.
Slowing the effects of climate change and adapting to the many effects that we can’t stop will require a substantial cultural shift. Such a shift will require wholesale Participation, Communal Effort and Radical Inclusion of both existing and future participants with a wide range of worldviews and ideology.
Anything worthwhile starts with individuals feeling like they have what it takes to create change. Green Freezer Burn is the face of a needed cultural change in the Alberta burner community and will only succeed if the participants behind it feel driven to make things happen. This is an opportunity for participants to explore Radical Self-Reliance to discover, exercise and rely on their own inner resources , creating the positive solutions needed.
Handle waste ecologically by reusing stuff, reducing the need for disposable packaging, composting our waste and only as a final option, recycling our waste. It’s much easier to Leave No Trace MOOP is easier to avoid when it’s not created in the first place.
This happens in two stages. First we make the changes needed to reduce our carbon emissions to as little as possible with the hope of achieving “carbon neutral” by not putting new carbon into the environment and ensuring that we truly Leave No Trace. This is largely accomplished by the Participation and **Communal Effort** of participants through substituting (and sharing) renewable energy instead of fossil fuels. The closer we can be to carbon neutral makes it easier for us to reach our final goal of being “Carbon Negative” (removing more carbon than we put into it).
Becoming a carbon negative event will involve a combination of activities that remove carbon from the air, such as sponsoring community-led tree planting efforts in Ponoka County, participating in a carbon offset program or other projects that actively remove carbon from the air.
Update Survival Guide to include messaging regarding:
Support and spread awareness of the Freezer Burn “Renewables for Artists Team” (RAT) that can support artists who are interested in using renewable energy for their Fraya art.
The following list of actionable projects has been developed by the Green Freezer Burn Steering Committee through best practice research of other Regional Events, the Burning Man Project’s Environmental Sustainability roadmap and participant input to date. This list is not final but rather a snapshot in time of how the goals and strategy outlined above can be realized.
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