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thrivingisthegoal · 7 months

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A challenge I want to issue to Solarpunk Storytelling! Ground it!

I'm reading a lot about the role of transformative adaptation in response to disaster, and indigenous communities. There is a link in restoring cultural connections based in land, adaptation to climate change, and improved health of indigenous communities. There was also an Australian study that found that caring for the land had a dual benefit in adaptation, not only in adapting the land to respond better to climate disaster, but also in the health of Aboriginal people who worked implementing the adaptation practices.

Part of what makes it so transformative is that adaptive responses to climate change are extremely place based. You don't establish a mangrove to reduce the shock of typhoons in the American Midwest, and you don't do controlled burns in coral reefs.

I see and read a lot of fruit trees and solar panels in Solarpunk concepts, which is great, they definitely have a place in our bright future! But not everywhere in the world is going to be a sunny food forest because not everywhere can support that.

I want to see more Solarpunk narratives integrate adaptive techniques, and maybe put mitigation on top of it! Does a town's seawall have solar panels on top? Do we root mangrove forests on offshore turbines? Adaptive strategies are a part of human response to climate change, and they're grounded in place, I'd love to see more of those ideas! What kind of biome is being restored in this narrative, and how does that look different?

#solarpunk #narrative #adaptation #mitigation #climate change #climate crisis #writing #transformation #climate justice

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drew-mga2022mi6021 · 3 months

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Research | Worldbuilding Questions

Old Tolbooth Wyn - Ian McCue

In order to get into world building, I decided to first ask myself some basic questions about the world.

What are the physical aspects of this world?

This is an alternate reality of our own world which has gravitated towards clean energy (particularly solar power) as opposed to heavy reliance on fossil fuels. Thus, most buildings are self sustained. This is not just in relation to their sources of energy, but extends to other aspects of the owners' lives as well. Most buildings in the city would have adapted some form of vertical gardening, allowing plants to grow over and even cover certain walls of a given building. In addition to general floral varieties, most people grow at least two to three low maintenance crops in their own gardens. Those who live beyond the suburbs have more space to work with, and tend to have larger gardens with more varieties of crops.

Climatic Zones of Sri Lanka

The terrain is largely based on the climatic zones of Sri Lanka, with minor differences. This is because Sri Lanka's climate supports a large variety of biodiversity in terms of both flora and fauna. The people of this world, as they are more conscious of the world around them, would try their best to preserve this aspect of their world. As such, the weather and climate would also largely remain the same.

The idea of Solarpunk does not limit itself to solar power, but instead encompasses all forms of clean energy (although, subcategories like Windpunk and Waterpunk have been formed for more specialised worldbuilding projects based around those concepts). Finally, due to the close proximity of Sri Lanka to the equator, the traditional system of the four seasons are nonexistent. Instead, Sri Lanka is dominated by two monsoonal seasons - The South West Monsoon from May to August (Maha), and the North East Monsoon from September to March (Yala) - and one intermediate season. The climate is generally closer to the Western standard of summer, with more humidity due to the tropical nature of our country. Floods are quite common during the Monsoon season, but one would imagine that this Solarpunk reality would be able to capitalise on this, with built in wind and water turbines functioning as an alternate source of power in most peoples' homes.

Why is this world the way that it is?

Sri Lanka has always been sustainable, even since ancient times, so the idea of this country going fully green is not too far fetched. One of the country's most standout features was the ancient irrigation systems built by the Sri Lankan kings of old. These systems were developed over a millennia, and were thought to be far ahead of their time. It was partially transformed during its encounter with British colonialism with new values, technological systems, administrative structures and a legal code. After the independence in 1948, this transformation continued with foreign aid and technical expertise from the West (Zubair, 2005). It has been argued that the indigenous irrigation systems in Sri Lanka offer a useful counterpoint of one that has been sustained and had many favourable attributes. There are lessons to be learnt from contrasting different modes of irrigation practice in the light of sustainability.

Therefore, the rapid evolution of this clean form of technology could simply be attributed to letting Sri Lanka develop naturally, with limited interference from Colonial forces. The premise of Solarpunk itself was of course formed on the basis of decolonisation, particularly of arts and energy, and rooted in afro-futurism (Reina-Rozo, 2021) so it isn't too wild a concept to assume that natural development would have eventually led to this. What is exciting is the fact that Sri Lanka's version of Solarpunk would differ from the traditional idea of it, that mainly being based on African culture. The notion that each application of Solarpunk can be influenced by ones own culture is fascinating to me. To create this wholly local version of a society founded on community and clean energy, I must do more research.

References

Reina-Rozo, J.D. (2021). Art, Energy and Technology: the Solarpunk Movement. International Journal of Engineering, Social Justice, and Peace, 8(1), pp.55–68. doi:https://doi.org/10.24908/ijesjp.v8i1.14292.

Zubair, L. (2005). Modernisation of Sri Lanka’s Traditional Irrigation Systems and Sustainability*. Science, Technology and Society, 10(2), pp.161–195. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/097172180501000201.

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imaginariumrpc · 3 years

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imaginarium : a place devoted to the imagination, largely devoted to simulating and cultivating the imagination, towards scientific, artistic, commercial, recreational and/or spiritual ends.

Hello, bonjour and pusu’l, lovelies! My name’s Arcana, I’m twenty years old, a Canadian, a Solar Cancererian, a Lunar Sagittarian and a Rising Libra, according to the Western Zodiac, and a Dragon according to the Chinese Zodiac, Genderfluid, Multigender, Transgender, Non-Binary, Intersex, Queer, Autigender, Pearlian, Two Spirit, Androgynos, Draoidhe, DemiOmniBiromantic/DemiOmniBisexual, Autistic and otherwise neurodivergent, ENFP, Ravenpuff, Thunderbird, Otherkin, Therian, an Animist, a Pagan and I’m intrigued in the occult and witchcraft and I am additionally a white passing mixed triracial multi-indigenous person of color or more specifically, of Mi’kmaw, Wyandot, Wolastoqiyik, Métis and Sephardi Jewish heritage! I like cuddling and playing with cats and dogs and animals, eating pizza, taking pictures, music, reading, writing, gushing about friends and helping others. So with that said, I’m here to present you guys my new rpc / rph / aesthetic / inspiration / resource / personal / edit blog ! It’s for my own use but it can also be for your use ( provided you don’t take any of my original content off of this blog without my express permission ), the rpc and anyone else who wishes to use it, too! It features musings, codes, psd’s, psa’s, memes and a LOT more sprinkled with the occasional original content from me.

WHAT I DO:

a discord server affliated with this blog.

faceclaim help. ( poc, lgbtqia2+ and underused faceclaims included! )

alternate faceclaim suggestions ( send me a faceclaim that you don’t want to use and I’ll make a list of alternates. )

fancasts ( send me a character and i’ll make a post of potential faceclaims. )

name help.

label help.

plot help.

admin advice.

url help.

muse help. ( i.e names, concepts, character creation, worldbuilding, lore, etc. )

guides &&. tutorials.

general advice and being here to talk to.

rp advice.

opinions. ( depending on what it is. )

memes.

musings.

muse inspo.

base icon batches ( uncommon, but will open on occasion. )

psd recommendations.

shoutouts.

masterlists.

promo’s. ( provided you submit it to me as a photo. )

psa’s.

unpopular opinions.

character metas. ( occasionally, depending on the muse and on the fandom. )

positivity. ( muses — be they canon or original, fandom aligned or otherwise, and muns. )

venting. ( nothing hateful or discriminatory ! )

rants. ( nothing hateful or discriminatory ! )

first look reviews. ( on occasion. )

critiques. ( on occasion. )

in-depth blog reviews. ( on occasion. )

muse archetype aesthetic edits / moodboards. ( i.e the artist, the femme fatale, etc. )

dynamic / bond / family / friendship / squad / ship edits / moodboards ( poc, interracial and lgbtqia2+, polyamorous, m/m / mlm, f/f / wlw and nblnb included! )

faceless muse edits. ( muses of color and ships included! )

character emotional traits.

multiple genres, time periods and settings. ( i.e: historical, antiquity, medieval, vintage, modern, supernatural, fantasy, apocalypse, action, horror, science fiction, etc. )

aesthetics. ( i.e dark academia, solarpunk, retro, goth, lovecore, etc. )

theme recommendations.

template recommendations.

family templates ( occasional. )

fandom lists ( eventually. )

masculine, feminine and nonbinary.

cultural awareness.

locations ( including but not limited to interiors, exteriors, homes, and all the continents. ).

scenery.

nature.

animals.

mythology.

weddings.

religion ( specifically for muses from certain religions i.e jewish and muslim muses, etc. )

disabled and neurodivergent muse representation and resources.

resources and representation for the lgbtqia2+ / mogai community and its muses, i.e lesbian muses, gay muses, bi muses, trans* ( including nonbinary, genderfluid, genderless and other non-cisgender ) muses, queer muses, intersex muses, aromantic / asexual muses and two spirited muses, among other muses that are considered queer.

resources and representation for all muses of color, including black muses, indigenous / native muses, latinx muses, asian muses ( all asians, not just east asians ! ), pasifika muses, jewish muses, etc., that overpower than that of white muses, there are still resources for white muses, though muses of color will always be a priority on this blog.

resources for portraying pregnant muses ( will be tagged! ).

resources for portraying muses who practice witchcraft.

resources for portraying muses who are sex workers.

resources for muses of all ages, including children, adolescents, adults and elders.

resources for animated muses.

resources for nonhuman muses.

cuisine.

makeup ( for muses of all genders ! ).

tattoos.

nsfw. ( will be tagged ! )

pride flags.

texts.

userboxes.

seasons.

colors.

zodiac.

typography.

concepts.

plots.

imagine your otp/ot3/etc.

“make me choose” events.

confessions.

wardrobe.

physique ( friendly to all skin tones, body types, shapes and sizes! ).

wishlist.

faves.

crack.

shitposts.

mun stuff.

music playlists ( including my own spotify playlists ).

aesthetics and edits of my own muses.

resources and character tags for my muses.

stimboards.

occasionally post some of my fanfiction / drabble works.

occasional drabble / fanfic requests.

occasionally post some of my music works.

possibly post specific music edits when i figure out how to do so.

more to be added when i think of something.

WHAT I WILL NOT DO:

callout posts.

drama posts.

get involved in discourse.

flame other people.

bash on characters, fandoms and/or ships.

post recent spoilers of a series without tagging it.

tolerate bigoted, homophobic, lesbophobic, biphobic, omniphobic, panphobic, aphobic, arophobic, transphobic, enbyphobic, queerphobic, racist, colorist, sexist, exorsexist, intersexist, heterosexist, anti-polyamory, anti-mogai, anti-neopronouns, anti-nounself pronouns, anti-emojiself pronouns, anti-self diagnosis or mental health gatekeeper, victim blaming, gender/orientation/mental health gatekeeping, anti-otherkin, anti-feminist, ageist, speciesist, ableist, fatphobic, anti-black, anti-native, islamophobic, antisemitic, antiromani, xenophobic, exclusionist, transmeds/truscum, terfs/swerfs, radfems, heightist, sizeist, discrimination on cultures and subcultures, discrimination on religion or lack thereof, mysogynist/misandrist, white supremacist or any kind of supremacist honestly, nationalist, linguistic discrimination, or otherwise hateful, discriminatory, derogatory, vulgar and just overall dumb language, speech, behaviors and attitudes.

gif requests.

gif hunts.

manips.

textures.

crackship edit requests ( unless stated otherwise. )

edited icon batches ( unless if i’m releasing my own that i no longer use. )

theme / page / code making.

psd making.

more to be added if i think of something.

So, with that said, PLEASE like and/or reblog this if you’re interested in using it or at the very least spread the word! I really want to try and help people and have fun with you guys, but I can’t do that if this doesn’t get any notes. You can find out more information by reading my F.A.QHERE! Thank you so much for reading, I hope you all have a wonderful morning/day/evening/night! Yours truly, with all of my love, Arcana.

#** blog; psa.#** rpc; promo.#tw; long post #** blog; mod post.#** blog; mine.#!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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post-futurism · 4 years

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so i was asked by @defshad to share some resources about environmentalism and sustainability in relation to public transport for someone wanting to learn more about those topics. while my area is more in the city planning and sociology domain, I’m going to list some environmental and sustainability related resources that are useful across multiple disciplines.

First i want to say that when talking about environmentalism we must always involve indigenous knowledges. Oftentimes in academic and even non-academic circles, indigenous knowledges are invalidated because their knowledge is not presented in the established ‘western’ way, with numerous peer-reviewed studies to back up their claims, in turn invalidating the thousands of years of oral histories that have carried various knowledges to this day. For any non-australians i’d recommend researching historians (oral and written) by people in your regions.

For australians, here are some good resources* on the indigenous approach to writing about country and the environment. I tried to only include sources written in cooperation with Country and indigenous groups but there are some that are not. still worth reading these:

Telling stories in, through and with Country: engaging with Indigenous and more-than-human methodologies at Bawaka, NE Australia

Working with and learning from Country: decentring human author-ity

Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe (such a good read)

Words for country : landscape & language in Australia (really love this one too)

I would also hesitantly recommend looking at Bill Gamage’s ‘The Biggest Estate on Earth’ because although he raises some good points re firestick farming technology, he constantly refers to indigenous australians as ‘aborigines’ and uses what looks like a colonialist era painting for the cover for a book which is like, not great tbh. but it’s one of those ‘iconic’ pieces of academic work that helped changed the direction of academic environmentalism in aus.

Nourishing terrains : Australian Aboriginal views of landscape and wilderness

(direct link) Integrating Understandings of a Yolngu Seasonal Calendar (this is by a white author and presented in a v traditionally academic mode but honestly i love the message of fuck u there’s more than 4 seasons because yeah)

For light reading on environmental sustainability i’d recommend following blogs @littleearthtalks @solarpunkcast and @solarpunkwitchcraft, first being a news blog and the other two posting regularly about ideas and practices to do with the solarpunk notion. I’d also recommend frequenting the conversation. That’s a really good news website based in australia but they cover worldwide topics too. All articles are written by academics and are peer reviewed before posting, their journalistic process is very transparent & i respect that. I linked to their environment section but they also cover a huge range of topics which you can search by if you want to find info on a particular topic.

For the ‘iconic’ theories that every environmental lecturer tells you to read, have a look at:

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson (review written by Margaret Atwood)

The Limits to Growth thesis

The IPCC’s summary for policy makers (basically a much more digestible version of their findings. they literally spell out how policy makers can tackle climate change and yet??)

The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs (her chapters on how important sidewalks are to the urban experience are particularly interesting)

For urban planning theories that can help you understand why cities have developed the way they have, look up terms like:

the Garden City movement, the City Beautiful movement, desire paths (this ted talk covers it pretty well), walkable cities (often connected to the work/play/live idea used in transport discourses), sustainable communities (usually used in terms of resilience for emergencies like bushfires or environmental threats caused by large developments like dams).

This might actually be on the specific transport topic of what shad was asking for lmao - An interesting podcast on the politics of public transport infrastructure

and idk this podcast site always does incredibly interesting topics. I’ve linked to a search result for ‘green energy’ as that’s what shad was looking for. You can sort by topic too like architecture or cities or technology. There’s this super interesting one on the planning layout of salt lake city that blew my mind. so so interesting.

anyway, hope this is useful or at least interesting! if there are any planners or people out there with good resouces on the intersect between environmentalism and transport, please feel free to add on :)

*If you can’t access these pdfs, please let me know and I can get them for you or you can try your luck with JTSOR.

#long post #ah this got kinda messy and long but i forgot to do it on the weekend so just quickly made a list #environmentalism #sustainability #indigenous issues #urban planning

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tidalpunk · 5 years

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Thinking critically about solarpunk

Any and all movements, however casual or fictional as that of solarpunk, that aim for a better society must not be afraid of self-reflection. Spurred to some degree by the discussion that lead to solarpunk being excluded from Wikipedia (both as its own page and as as a derivative of Cyberpunk), I’d like to post a couple of things about the ways in which I think that we should probably consider how we go about our designs and consumption of the movement itself. In keeping with the generally anarchist and non-prescriptivist ideals of solarpunk, I shall make a concerted effort not to address any of the following concerns as “musts” and “mustn’t"s, as tempting as that may be, but as “could"s and “probably”. This is not a manifesto about what solarpunk should be, but a suggestion for how we engage with the topics that give us our material ideals, based loosely on our societal ideals.

1) Attribution, inspiration and creation:

While a foundation is built on a understanding of existing designs, we may endeavour to distinguish between what is inspiring solarpunk, what is being created with a similar ethos to solarpunk, and what is actually being designed with solarpunk in mind during its creation. We are in very formative years, but we could learn to not point at things we like and go “that’s solarpunk!” but rather “that is in keeping with solarpunk”. Otherwise we run the risk of assuming that solarpunk is more defined than it is, and of essentially misappropriating creators’ works for our own gains. (I’m sideyeing the TV tropes page for solarpunk here, but it’s by far not the only place where solarpunk fans have taken the approach of just appropriating anything).

2) Historical Context:

To think we can create something good and beautiful in our present or future without careful analysis of the past reeks of naïvety. Almost the entirety of what I’ve found about solarpunk has been about what is wrong and how we can move into the future, but nothing about where these, our, ideals have sprouted elsewhere in history.

For example, our primary aesthetic point of reference is Art Nouveau. Art Nouveau, for context, was a late-Imperial European movement that relied heavily on a form of Orientalism that fetishised Ancient Egyptian designs and Japanese cultural traditions. Furthermore, Art Nouveau was inspired heavily by/ grew from the Arts and Crafts movement of England’s late Romantic period, which was largely lead by William Morris, who practically straight-out copied the designs of his carpets he’d bought from the Middle East (which you can view, fittingly, at the V&A museum in London). However, it must be recognised that he was a major player in the British socialist movement that ultimately lead to things such as the NHS, and that the Arts and Crafts movement was a reaction to Industrialisation and mass-production, a direct predecessor to our intrinsic DIY ideals.

This is, of course, a very quick note on just one aspect of our cultural heritage, and should I have time, or anyone want to collaborate with me, I’d like to see some parts that specifically analyse our points of inspiration in comparison to our ideals. Topics would include a more in-depth analysis of our relationship with the Art Nouveau and the Arts and Crafts movement; the hippie ideals and movements of the second half of the 20th century; socialist and anarchist practice; scientific theories and advancements; the general history of industrialisation; solarpunk’s relations to the other -punks and to Punk; our relationship to afrofuturism; and then to ecofiction and ecomodernism. And others, taking for example the note from Adam Flynn’s solarpunk manifesto:

“Solarpunk draws on the ideal of Jefferson’s yeoman farmer, Ghandi’s ideal of swadeshi and subsequent Salt March, and countless other traditions of innovative dissent.”

Such things have been brought up here and there, and I shall provide links to essays that are relevant, but a continuation of these analyses could only strengthen solarpunk. I intend, at the least, to create a masterpost at some point (?) of critical pieces relevant to solarpunk and historical context, and any help towards that would be wonderful.

3) Present context:

One of the great things, I believe, about solarpunk, is that we are willing to look in any and all directions to find resources to inform our practice and theory. This, however, is best done with an awareness of how interacting and being inspired by different groups affects us and them.

For example, in our endeavours to be open and accessible, we reach for ideas from indigenous populations. While considering them is definitely good, to most effectively promote sustainability of societies, autonomy, well-being and environments, treading carefully so as not to repeat the behaviours of the colonialist principles that come before us is vital. Should we wish to take into our theories or practice any of the concepts of these groups, we must make sure we have their full consent, cooperation, and leadership, because to do otherwise is to exploit or endanger them. To recognise individuals who are already are members of these groups who are already within our group is paramount. I’m personally fond of the relationship @noaasanctuaries have with Native American groups, but I’m no expert and would rather refer to the expertise of others.

On the other side of the same coin is the consideration of our relationships to Class. For example, I make a conscious effort to not promote luxury hotels on here, including the ones that are set up to look like traditional huts, as their exclusiveness, excess, and exploitation is in direct antithesis to our values. I’m sure I’ll make mistakes, and I’d like to hope that followers that notice my mistakes will point them out to me. To romanticise aesthetic over other considerations is to make solarpunk vulnerable to becoming yet another trend with all the superficiality and none of the substance. It is a tricky line to tread, as the rich will also more readily have access to the futuristic technology and resources we would like to eventually have available to all so not all fancy things can be discounted. And stealing some of the ideas of the rich so as to make them accessible rather than exclusive isn’t a bad thing, as far as I’m concerned. Again, this is about critical consumption, rather than “this is bad and this is good”.

Reading list:

Elvia Wilk: “Is Ornamenting Solar Panels a Crime?” - a broad contextualisation of solarpunk, which I thoroughly recommend. April 2018. https://www.e-flux.com/architecture/positions/191258/is-ornamenting-solar-panels-a-crime/

Sam Keeper (@stormingtheivorytower, currently on hiatus) : “Hack monuments: the methods of -punk” - another read I particularly recommend, August 2017 http://www.stormingtheivorytower.com/2017/08/hack-monuments-methods-of-punk.html

@solarpunks : “solarpunk: a reference guide” - what it says on the can, dating from 2008 onwards. Last update Feb 2018. https://medium.com/solarpunks/solarpunk-a-reference-guide-8bcf18871965

Adam Flynn: “solarpunk: notes toward a manifesto”, 2014 https://hieroglyph.asu.edu/2014/09/solarpunk-notes-toward-a-manifesto/

Andrew Dana Hudson: “on the political elements of solarpunk”. The main premise of this essay, as with most, is speculative, but you get critical notes every now and then, such as “Nat Geo poverty porn”, fetishism of slums. https://medium.com/solarpunks/on-the-political-dimensions-of-solarpunk-c5a7b4bf8df4

Connor Owens: “What is Solarpunk?” https://solarpunkanarchists.com/2016/05/27/what-is-solarpunk/

#i need to correct the anarchist one as the word utopia is from greek not latin #but whatever #solarpunk #critical theory #ive had this in my drafts for frickin forever and i think im ready to click the post button now #long post #talk #community

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solarpunkwitchcraft · 6 years

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How do you prevent feeling hopeless, and scared, and angry wrt climate change and its irrevocable effects on humanity and earth?

Hi anon! Sorry I took a little bit to get back to you! I was in finals week at college, but now I am out of school and much more free.

In terms of feeling hopeless about the climate, I think that’s what a lot of solarpunk is about. Speaking anecdotally, from my own experience, I had always been interested in the climate and worried about climate change. However, growing up in a middle-class area in New England, much of my concern was hypothetical. I worried about the rainforests and the coral reefs, but i never felt I could do anything about it. Added to these feelings of ineptitude were these two strains of mainstream climate reporting: apocalyptic tales about how bad everything was going to be and weak, consumer-based calls to action, telling you to change your lightbulbs and take shorter showers. The impression that I got was that climate change was a gaping canyon of an issue and that our only solutions were bandaids.

Solarpunk opposes those strains of climate discourse. Yes, climate change is bad. Natural disasters are going to get more common. Animals will go extinct. People will die. We have to confront these realities head on. But the amount of destruction can always be mitigated, and that’s where hope comes in. Hope springs people into action; despair allows them to be complacent. If we want to make change, we have to approach the problem with hope.

Nihilism is the domain of the privileged, who can look at problems with a distant kind of despair, who can feel bad without having to sacrifice anything. Hope helps those whose lives will actually be affected by climate change–who are predominantly poor, Indigenous, and non-White, people who have been ignored by mainstream environmental groups in the US.

And there is hope, not in the changing of lightbulbs or the shortening of showers. There is hope in communal solar that is helping people in storm-battered Puerto Rico survive, there is hope in the actions of Indigenous land protectors in opposing fossil fuels, there is hope in communities learning to create utilities for themselves, lessening their dependence on corporations. Corporations want you to believe that your consumption is the key to solving climate change, but it is not. Alternatively, corporations want you to believe climate change is inevitable, so you will give in and not fight back.

Don’t believe them. Fight back. Destroy extractive capitalist practices.

That’s what gives me hope. i hope it gives you hope too.

#asks #solarpunk #hopepunk

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solarpunkcast · 7 years

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What can I do? (Solarpunk edition)

It warms my heart to see so much support and interest in solarpunk! I know a lot of people are wondering how they can contribute, and hopefully this answers most questions.

Firstly, I think everyone has something they can contribute–even simply listening and sharing is a HUGE help for solarpunk as a whole. Arts, design, fashion, architecture, engineering, farming, forestry, pharmaceuticals, medicine, travel/transit, fiction/nonfiction writing, industry, politics, education... whatever you work with, whatever your passions or hobbies are, you have something to contribute.

Solarpunk does not just mean solar-powered, in the same way Steampunk does not only refer to steam power.

It means looking towards a brighter future, for all of us sharing this Earth. It means seeing the options we’ve been shown for the future (post apoc trash or corporate dystopias) and saying “I refuse to accept this”.

Solarpunk is our present day -punk genre. It has the ability to spread and enact true change, if we nurture it enough.

And in that vein, to answer the question “What can I do?” We can break down solarpunk into three branches (for now):

Diversity: celebrating our differences, being empathetic, understanding and sharing multiple perspectives. Diversity in our sociopolitical lives as well as diversity for our ecosystems and economies.

Accessibility: advancement in technology cannot truly help humanity if certain classes or countries cannot access them. Disabilities (physical and mental) must be accounted for when we redesign cities for people; we must ensure everyone can get around them.

Sustainability: our current for-profit system is killing us and the beautiful creatures we share our planet with. We are wardens of Earth; we are here to protect and nurture it. Production based on need not profit, and de-industrialized agriculture. Communities should be able to function independently from the whole, in terms of necessities (food, water, power, shelter).

Along with these branches, I believe there are three other movements that will inevitably intersect with Solarpunk, if they haven’t already.

Permaculture: bringing back ancient/indigenous/sensible farming practices that we lost or considered “primitive”. Agroforestry, crop rotation, urban/vertical farming are good places to start.

Right-To-Repair: in response to companies like Apple denying our ability to maintain our own devices, there is a large movement dedicated to repairing tech in order to elongate their life cycle and prevent further waste. Why buy a phone every two years, when we could upgrade one continuously over ten?

Afrofuturism: Africa is finally beginning to get back on its feet after the imperialist Rape of Africa era. African Americans are strengthening their voices and cultural ties in this Eurocentric digital age. I cannot properly do this movement justice; it isn’t my voice that should be telling you. Supporting and uplifting the voices within this movement is crucial to not only Solarpunk, but to the wider goal of harmony and reparation.

The most important facet of Solarpunk is perspective: not everything will work for everyone, and listening to marginalized people is absolutely essential to growing our movement.

Be safe, be kind, and spread some love.

#solarpunk #solarpunk community #sustainability #social justice #art and fashion #persolem

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left-reminders · 7 years

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"The commons is the economic middle-way beyond the logic of the state and the market. The commons is decentralised cooperation, as opposed to centralised cooperation (statism) and decentralised competition (marketism). It is the economic basis for a libertarian socialist society, beyond capitalism and government; which, in practice, would be a vast voluntary network of autonomous self-organised commons associations. Free cooperation replacing hierarchy and competition. There are already countless working examples of such commons-based management of resources, from cooperatives, community land trusts, peer-production, free and open-source software, free stores, mutual aid networks, and community stewardship of land by indigenous peoples. So when somebody brings up Garrett Hardin's famous thought-experiment, the so-called ‘tragedy of the commons’, tell them that there's no such thing. It doesn't exist. Real commons systems exist right now, have existed for millennia, and have never been organised the way Hardin claimed they would be in his purely speculative article. Even he later admitted he should have called it the ‘tragedy of the UNMANAGED commons’. If you'd like to learn more about actual commons systems, read Elinor Ostrom's seminal book Governing the Commons (1990).”

-Solarpunk Anarchists

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