Famous American Music Festival Faces Risk from Climate Change
2022-07-03
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1Bonnaroo is a well-known music festival that is held each year in the southern United States.
2The four-day event is held on a farm in rural Tennessee.
3It is known for using Earth-friendly practices.
4But last year, the planet's changing climate forced the event's cancellation.
5A rainstorm flooded parts of Tennessee just before the start of the 2021 festival.
6The storm killed 20 people. Weather experts say 50 centimeters of rain fell on August 21.
7That set a record for an area not near an ocean.
8The wet weather made it impossible for the expected 85,000 people to get to the festival's location, about 100 kilometers from Nashville, Tennessee.
9Janey Camp is a civil and environmental engineering professor at nearby Vanderbilt University.
10She said one problem with heavy rains in Tennessee is that much of the area sits on hard limestone that does not absorb water.
11"We're seeing these more intense precipitation events that don't align with the historic data," she said.
12This year's Bonnaroo took place in mid-June without a problem.
13But organizers who put on large outdoor events such as Bonnaroo worry that changing weather patterns will put future festivals at risk.
14Andrew Joyner is the climatologist for the state of Tennessee.
15He said it is hard to know if Bonnaroo is going to be "more affected" by extreme weather in the future.
16But, he said, "it's definitely vulnerable to it."
17Because of such risks, the organizers of Bonnaroo are trying to fight climate change in a small way.
18During the four-day festival, the farm becomes the size of a small city.
19The event uses solar power and has recycling and compost areas.
20People who come are given free meals if they help clean up by collecting items to recycle.
21During the festival, a group called Clean Vibes helps with recycling and waste collection.
22Anna Borofsky is the co-founder of the company.
23She said, "We are basically the public works department for a temporary city."
24Clean Vibes aims to keep half the festival's waste from reaching landfills.
25Between 2002 and 2019, the group kept over 3,500 metric tons of waste away.
26Food waste that ends up in landfills creates the greenhouse gas known as methane.
27Borofsky called her group "the trash police."
28Bonnaroo organizers are also trying to help make the area more energy efficient.
29While this year's festival was dry, air temperatures were over 30 degrees Celsius.
30The area's power company said two demand records were set during the week of the festival.
31The Bonnaroo Works Fund pays for energy improvements in homes nearby.
32Volunteers go to the homes of low-income families and put in new lights, fix water pipes and make other improvements to help people stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter.
33Joyner, the state's climatologist, said Tennessee needs more information to continue preparing people for bad weather.
34The weather data would help people make improvements for their homes.
35It would also help organizers of other large outdoor events.
36Tennessee is home to large outdoor concerts because it is the top city in the U.S. for country music.
37It also holds outdoor car racing events.
38More data would prepare cities and emergency offices if bad weather comes.
39Borofsky, of Clean Vibes, said she knows "what we're doing at this one event for one weekend isn't changing the world."
40But she added that what her group does "is evidence that it can be done on a larger scale in other applications."
41I'm Dan Friedell.
1Bonnaroo is a well-known music festival that is held each year in the southern United States. The four-day event is held on a farm in rural Tennessee. It is known for using Earth-friendly practices. 2But last year, the planet's changing climate forced the event's cancellation. 3A rainstorm flooded parts of Tennessee just before the start of the 2021 festival. The storm killed 20 people. Weather experts say 50 centimeters of rain fell on August 21. That set a record for an area not near an ocean. The wet weather made it impossible for the expected 85,000 people to get to the festival's location, about 100 kilometers from Nashville, Tennessee. 4Janey Camp is a civil and environmental engineering professor at nearby Vanderbilt University. She said one problem with heavy rains in Tennessee is that much of the area sits on hard limestone that does not absorb water. 5"We're seeing these more intense precipitation events that don't align with the historic data," she said. 6This year's Bonnaroo took place in mid-June without a problem. But organizers who put on large outdoor events such as Bonnaroo worry that changing weather patterns will put future festivals at risk. 7Andrew Joyner is the climatologist for the state of Tennessee. He said it is hard to know if Bonnaroo is going to be "more affected" by extreme weather in the future. But, he said, "it's definitely vulnerable to it." 8Because of such risks, the organizers of Bonnaroo are trying to fight climate change in a small way. During the four-day festival, the farm becomes the size of a small city. The event uses solar power and has recycling and compost areas. People who come are given free meals if they help clean up by collecting items to recycle. 9During the festival, a group called Clean Vibes helps with recycling and waste collection. Anna Borofsky is the co-founder of the company. She said, "We are basically the public works department for a temporary city." 10Clean Vibes aims to keep half the festival's waste from reaching landfills. Between 2002 and 2019, the group kept over 3,500 metric tons of waste away. Food waste that ends up in landfills creates the greenhouse gas known as methane. 11Borofsky called her group "the trash police." 12Bonnaroo organizers are also trying to help make the area more energy efficient. While this year's festival was dry, air temperatures were over 30 degrees Celsius. The area's power company said two demand records were set during the week of the festival. 13The Bonnaroo Works Fund pays for energy improvements in homes nearby. Volunteers go to the homes of low-income families and put in new lights, fix water pipes and make other improvements to help people stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter. 14Joyner, the state's climatologist, said Tennessee needs more information to continue preparing people for bad weather. 15The weather data would help people make improvements for their homes. It would also help organizers of other large outdoor events. 16Tennessee is home to large outdoor concerts because it is the top city in the U.S. for country music. It also holds outdoor car racing events. More data would prepare cities and emergency offices if bad weather comes. 17Borofsky, of Clean Vibes, said she knows "what we're doing at this one event for one weekend isn't changing the world." 18But she added that what her group does "is evidence that it can be done on a larger scale in other applications." 19I'm Dan Friedell. 20Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a report by the Associated Press. 21Write to us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page. 22________________________________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24precipitation- n. water that falls to the ground in the form of rain or snow 25align -v. to put something in order 26vulnerable - adj. open to harm or damage 27compost - n. a decaying mixture of plants and food waste that can be used to improve soil 28landfill - n. a place waste is buried under the ground 29efficient - adj. capable of producing the desired result without wasting materials or energy 30income - n. money a person earns from work 31scale - n. related to the size of something, from lowest to highest or small to large 32application - n. the use of an idea in a situation to solve a problem