COMBUSTION CHAMBER MEETING
MONDAY, MARCH 23, 2015
FACILITATOR: Prost
STACK: Turtlebunnie/Bonobo
SCRIBE: Chim-Chim
TOPICS: Recycling (Pixie); Flipside without a Burn (Prost)
ATTENDEES: Problem, Adam, Danny, Olivia, Decibel, Izzi, Pixie, Turtlebunnie, Prost, Wrinn, Breezy, Princess, Chim-Chim, guest, guest 2, Henry, Monkey, Bonobo, Beth, Brently, Cydney, Clovis
7:59pm MEETING BEGINS
8:00pm LLC UPDATE (Adam)
- WW weekend was cancelled this past weekend
- Casey (Site Prep AF) – Property in good shape; Cleanup work and maintenance are still needing to be done
- Corral—Kit has cleared it out; twice as much useable space than last year; 80 x 130 yards; Awesome potential for art placement
- Gate meeting will be scheduled
- Need Leads all hands within next two weeks
- AF meeting this coming Wednesday
8:04pm AF Update
8:05pm TOPIC: Recycling (Pixie)
- Thoughts on wanting to do this year?
- Periodic topic: Theme camp started doing recycling themselves; Then, job got too big; Rolled into Earth Guardian area; Job was getting too big, again
- There are (2) different positions now
- Putting bins is considered in-the-past
- Misconception—Recycling pays for itself; False belief; Not all recycling places take steel; 10 – 15 cents per ticket to cover bags $350/yr; higher or lower; Equates to 3-4 tix approx..
- From a Volunteer standpoint—It takes 30 slots to run recycling
- Impact on event itself—It does make a mess; Not as bad as it was last year; could have prepped better for rain
- Impact on values and beliefs—Impacts self-reliance aspect vs. Part of don’t have self-reliance, but cooperation; Communal effort
- From personal standpoint, it does help clean up; Helps sustainability
- Feedback—Everyone loves recycling; Individually, some don’t like it; It’s the idea of recycling they don’t like because of the need to practice self-reliance;
- Not as much with cans; glass issue; Cans, aluminum—choices? Simplified; Cans, cardboard, glass; Tin, steel, aluminum separate;
- History—Didn’t used to be as separated; How much education getting out to community? As we get closer, will do more—Earth Guardians and Recycling
- WRITE ARTICLE ON RECYCLING: Why it’s important? What do you take?
- Some people don’t care as long as community takes care of it; Ideally, people would take care of their own stuff and thus having no site sign off at all;
- Why should I pay 10 cents for everybody else to do it? Part of communal effort and ethics for everyone to participate; Part of collective ethic to welcome people
- Might not be using it, but eventually will; Convenience
- Cooperation is one of our principles
8:27pm Motion has been made and seconded to close stack; Motion passes
8:29pm CC continues to support recycling; Motion and seconded; Passed
8:30pm TOPIC: FLIPSIDE WITHOUT A BURN (Prost)
- Milam County currently not under a burn ban
- Insurance: Stumbling block on insurance: Insurance or no event; Don’t know insurance repercussions since Utah burn; What does Flipside look like without a Burn?
- From insurance perspective: There is more concern with how other events handle theirs; Lawyers are more concerned about Art cars
- A giant fire qualifies as an Obvious Hazard
- In the past, someone has sued Burning Man; From liability standpoint, the biggest problem is a Burn ban; There were two Flipsides (2009, 2002) where we didn’t have a Burn; Not a new reality; If Flipside continues, will have burn bans; Anyone submitting an effigy proposal will have to include a “no burn” plan in proposal that includes a budget for hauling the effigy off the property if no burn exists
- Question: How do we, as community, replace the catharsis we get from having a big fucking fire; we can’t put that all on daft lead to fill gap;
- Alternative catharsis lead: Come up with someone else instead of ACL
- Last time a burn ban came up, we had alternative solutions; However, people were unsatisfied with the solution
- Implement Poll to the community asking for ideas
- Alternate destruction needs
- Consider having volunteer teams to take it apart and reduce it to several barrels; It’s not fair to put the job on Leave No Trace (LNT) department, or DAFT, in determining how the effigy is going to be moved
- Alternative solution: Donate to Habitat for Humanity: Only whole pieces of lumber; If donating lumber is not an option, then make planters out of it: Most non-burn plans go take apart and haul and tiny thing on burn night instead
- How to make non-burn plans better: Do whatever DAFT wants to do with it from poll
- In 2002, “House of Cards”, there was a burn ban; The compromise consisted of the community running with sledgehammers, and taking pieces;
- Cleanup will not disassemble effigy; DAFT does it or knocks it over;
- Everyone enter a raffle to win effigy; and raffle for steel;
- Alternatives: Find land for trench burning for disposal
- Regarding the catharsis issue: DAFT came up with plans: In 2011—the idea was to destroy the bridge by destroying its railings; Pieces would have been given to the community; Beast—saw horns off head;
- Catharsis of freak; Face collapsed and there was a fire next to it
8:55pm REGIONAL UPDATE (Clovis)
- GLC in couple of weeks; Same weekend as work weekend; 2nd weekend in April
- Meet n greet went well