10-9 and Sleep Dep battle for a particularly good piece of MOOP: a buried stake.
Photo by Vertumnus. Click for full size.

Hello all you MOOP maniacs and line sweepers extraordinaire! It’s an exciting time out here in the ruins of Black Rock City, where the Playa Restoration team is sweeping through the city grid at an unprecedented pace. They knocked out another 54 blocks in their third day on the field, making quick work of the inner blocks where you, I and most of our friends made our homes.

How did YOUR camp score on the MOOP Map? Read on to find out.

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Welcome back, all you MOOP maniacs and line sweepers extraordinaire, to the second day of our thrilling live coverage of MOOP Map 2012!

If you’re just tuning in: Day One was a perfect day and the Playa Restoration team is off to a record-breaking start. But where yesterday we were covering the back blocks of Black Rock City, today the team tackled a bigger challenge: Esplanade, the epicenter of Burning Man’s multifarious madness. In years past, Esplanade has seen some of the worst scores — and some of the best, too.

How much MOOP was left on the Esplanade this year? How did those big EDM camps score? Was Day Two another win for our Playa Restoration home team? We’re about to find out.

Before we unveil the results from Day Two, let’s talk a little about:

How To Moop.

MOOP, noun – Matter Out Of Place; especially as it applies to Black Rock City and its Citizens. Can be anything: cigarette butts, bottle caps, glowsticks, fireworks, but is often disguised as debris, i.e., broken bits of wood, plastic, metal, glass and plants. Can also be a condition: burn scars, grey water, dunes, etc.

moop, verb – to pick up Matter Out Of Place.

Photo by Vertumnus. Click for full size!

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This is it, everybody: the moment you’ve been waiting for. Did your camp Leave No Trace? We’re about to find out, in the thrilling first installment of MOOP Map Live 2012!

The MOOP line stretches from Iris to Lilac, covering three city blocks. Photo by Vertumnus. Click for full size!

Day One of Playa Restoration was a day of legend, the perfect day. Maybe, just maybe the Best Day Ever.

A lot of that is thanks to YOU, all you MOOP maniacs who cleaned up after yourselves and your neighbors too.

Some of it is thanks to the weather: A clear, 90° day with a light breeze. Warm, but not deathly hot — and nary a dust storm to be seen.

Spirits were high on the MOOP line. Photo by Vertumnus. Click to enlarge!

For the rest, we can thank the all-star Playa Restoration team, who covered a record 96 blocks in a single day, beating the previous record by 30! That’s unheard of, folks. Let’s give ‘em a big round of applause!

Yes, on their very first day this team has proved their mettle — but they couldn’t have done it without the help of the Burning Man community. Remember, the MOOP Map isn’t about us: It’s about YOU. This is YOUR scorecard, Black Rock City, and without further ado, here are your first day’s results:

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One of the sexiest things about Burning Man — which you don’t always hear in the media — is that we’re the largest practicing Leave No Trace event in the world. BOOM! We build it, we burn it, we blow it up, and we make it all disappear so it looks like nothing ever happened.

The Man explodes on September 1, 2012. Photo by Neil Girling. Click for original.

With 50,000+ attendees in 2012, Burning Man is the largest gathering on U.S. Public Lands. The Bureau of Land Management permits us to celebrate our culture in the Black Rock Desert, but we must make sure the playa is returned to its pristine condition, Leaving No Trace behind. After all, it is public land and it’s meant to be shared by everyone.

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Moopers at the starting line. Photo by Vertumnus. Click to enlarge!

Hello, hello, HELLO to all you MOOP maniacs and line sweepers extraordinaire! Welcome to our LIVE coverage of the event of the year, the thrilling final quarter of Burning Man 2012, the nail-biting conclusion to a rollercoaster season. That’s right: We’re about to start creating this year’s MOOP Map.

If you’re tuning in for the first time, here’s what you need to know: Burning Man may technically be over, but for the 115 members of the Playa Restoration team, it’s just getting going. These all-star, highly attuned and maniacally dedicated moopers are about to comb the width and breadth of Black Rock City, picking up every last piece of MOOP they can before time runs out. What will they find? Will they finish in time? We’re about to find out.

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The MOOP Squad is an international litter-fighting phenom!

Well folks, this is it. Burning Man starts in two days, the Man burns in seven — and as we Playa Restoration crew members like to say, it’s just ten days to cleanup!

That’s right: While you’re preparing for the biggest, weirdest week of the year, we’re already itching to get out there and start picking up MOOP!

Why are we so excited to clean up our city? One simple reason:

When Burning Man cleans up after itself, Burning Man gets to happen again next year.

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Welcome back to The Burner’s Guide to Leaving No Trace, your guide to being a stellar Black Rock Citizen and helping Burning Man leave the desert spotless so it can all happen again next year!

But listen, I’ve had enough of chatting about how to be responsible, pack light, drop off your trash & recycling on the way home … let’s get to the good stuff! Let’s go to Burning Man and party down with Recycle Camp!

Do not board the Blue Duck, especially if you are made of metal.

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[This post was written by long-time Reno resident and Burner Nathan Aaron Heller, who works closely with Northern Nevada businesses on behalf of Burning Man.]

Gerlach’s new town sign, painted by Gary Mann.

On your way to and from Burning Man, whether you are traveling by auto, air or both, you will make your way through Black Rock City’s neighboring communities.

A store advertises its Burning Man-ready wares. Photo CC-BY Jennifer Morrow.

And while you’re there, most of you will spend money on supplies (of course, the seasoned among you know that doing so saves money and hassle). Did you know that your impact on local economies is HUGE? In fact, Burning Man estimates that in 2011 participants spent over $15 million in Northern Nevada, a region especially hard-hit by the ongoing recession. Many local businesses will tell you that Burning Man season is even bigger than Christmas. Pretty amazing, really.

Social Capital

The Burning Man experience has inspired many of us to take a serious look at our financial choices and relationships, including the effects of our economic decisions, directing our money towards resources and businesses that align with our values. By doing so, we invest in social capital. And because of Burning Man’s influence, many local businesses are giving additional attention to social capital and how it impacts the way they do business. Read more »