#Solarpunk Is the Future We Should Strive For

"Amid rising #climate anxiety and an intensifying #Climate crisis, solarpunk offers an unapologetically optimistic vision of the future that imagines a radically different societal and economic structure in harmony with nature."

by Olivia Lai, Jun 17th 2022

"The art genre [of Solarpunk] eventually evolved into a practical movement and subculture that incorporates more concrete, regenerative ideas for the future. Energy will be entirely dependent on solar and wind generation – with no fossil fuel or dirty emissions in sight – and circular economies are the only system in place. All waste will either be reused or repurposed, and resources and transport are guaranteed #sustainable and clean. Activities such as rainwater harvesting, #permaculture farming, and community gardening will be commonplace, while Indigenous knowledge and practices are celebrated and used across sectors to improve efficiency of resource consumption.

"#Decentralisation is another key principle that fits in the solarpunk movement. Unlike cyberpunks who imagine the world being dominated by evil corporations, solarpunks imagine a society where people and the planet are prioritised over the individual and profit. Essentially, say goodbye to conglomerates, hierarchies and excessive wealth, and hello to decentralised and open-source technologies, shared knowledge, as well as community building and cooperation.

"The ‘punk’ element in solarpunk refers to the movement’s unapologetically optimistic take on the future despite our growing pessimism and even apathy, and passionately calls for radical societal change and abandoning current #capitalist markets and infrastructure. Or as Rhys Williams, research fellow at the University of Glasgow and leading voice of the solarpunk movement describes it, solarpunks are 'against a shitty future.'

"But solarpunk is beyond just pretty architecture and ideas; it has the potential to influence with real-life applications. Art is a powerful medium to communicate knowledge and demonstrate to people different perspectives and possibilities. Already, there’s an emergence of biophilic designs for residential buildings and shopping malls that integrate natural elements into built environments with the aim of improving public wellbeing and sustainability.

"The movement also sparks discussion about current systemic problems and the need for societal changes, as seen with the increasing popularity of concepts such as degrowth economy, which seeks to scale down the resource use of high income nations’ economies by shrinking sectors that are ecologically damaging and offer little social benefit, and pursue growth not by economic expansion, but one that is ecologically and socially just for all."

earth.org/solarpunk/

#SolarPunkSunday #Degrowth #OpenSource #AntiCapitalism #Cooperation #CommunityBuilding #TraditionalEcologicalKnowledge