Solarpunk

What are your backup plans for an internet and telecom shutdown?

I don't believe trusting in satilite internet companies (especially one owned by a fascist) are very practical.

Outside of radio and ad-hoc networks however, I'm not sure what other options would be feasible for the average person that wanted to prepare for something like this.

The scalable model keeps thousands of bicycles out of landfills every year, and helps cyclists fix their rides on the cheap.

Just noodling around with what majors/classes would be available in a solarpunk world. Open to suggestions!

When looking at the majority of comments going on certain online forums you can end up thinking that the vast majority of solarpunks all think the same way on certain issues.

Whether it’s plant-based diets, or the role of traditional media it can seem like 80%+ of the people are in agreement, sometimes very strong agreement and denounce alternative interpretations as not solarpunk at all.

This is why the pioneering research by Benjamin Maldonado Fernandez is so interesting. As part of his studies at the university of Leiden he conducted a survey of people in the solarpunk scene which gained 571 respondents, making it one of the largest, if not the largest so far. It had a wide range of questions which you can see all of in the published results here.

We interviewed Benjamin to unpack some of the findings of the survey.

Keeping a lid on your carbon footprint doesn’t stop with your last breath. Your choice of funeral can have a significant environmental impact. In a recent report by the US-based National Funeral Directors Association, 60.5% of those surveyed expressed their interest in greener options including resomation (water cremation) human composting and natural burials.

https://www.positive.news/society/eco-concerns-prompt-green-funeral-options/

I debated for a while on if I should post this or not (rather morbid, I know) but I think it's an important thing to think about.

This is a place for you to talk about things you've been working on, projects that you think are cool, things that you're doing and etc. I'm hopeful that seeing people's cool projects and efforts can be inspiring to the rest of us!

A projection in Oakland that reads “liberation requires community.” What ways have you found to build community?

Universal Basic Services (UBS) is an alternative case to UBI.

Under UBS, the provision of free public services must go beyond health or education to cover other basic necessities (e.g., housing, care, transport, information, nutrition).

UBS can be more egalitarian with a strong redistributive performance and impact on income inequalities.

UBS can also be more sustainable by decarbonizing the economy in a just way - rather than disproportionally loading the costs on the lower income brackets - and by supporting sustainable consumption corridors.

Note: their definition of "community" is quite problematic in many ways...

Strong video: showing the difference between true solar punk on the one hand and greenwashing on the other .

I split "slrpnk" like "slrp-nk" in my head and assumed it was something about beatniks but instead you're slurpin' (slurping what, I didn't know; I left that up to the peeps in the instance), hence I'd read "slurpnik" every time I saw the instance.

After seeing this community in the slurpnik instance I do see now that I've been denigrating y'all this entire time in my mind, and I just wanted to apologize.

Delete this if it's too offensive to be called slurpniks or if it's too off topic, thx!

While watching the video I couldn't stop thinking about the fediverse. It's basically self-organized social-media. While it is far from perfect it is so much better than the corporate alternative in terms of relevant content. I'm just sad that basically nobody I know personally actually uses the fediverse...

https://piped.video/watch?v=AuZgTAW1QvA

https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/ultrakill-dev-says-its-fine-to-pirate-his-game-if-you-dont-have-money-to-spare-culture-shouldnt-exist-only-for-those-who-can-afford-it/

RIGHT TO REPAIR

A big fight is happening world-wide to push governments to ensure people can repair the products they own.

“The right to repair refers to proposed government legislation to forbid manufacturers from imposing barriers that deny consumers the ability to repair and modify their own consumer products.” | Wikipedia

This is happening because of:

• Planned Obsolescence: companies are purposely building their products to break faster, so you have to pay to replace them sooner.
• Unfixable Products: some products will have their components soldered, glued, or riveted, to stop people from being able to repair.
• Brand-Specific Parts: These parts may cost more than buying a new product. As well as that, some companies refuse to let independent repair technicians purchase their parts to try and force costumers to only use the product company for repairs.
• Restrictive Programing. For these, the programs refuse to let you fix your own products (a large example of this happens to farm equipment, where farmers have to hack their own equipment if they want to repair on their own).

More Info:

• https://youtu.be/NWQ8y3TksrQ
• https://youtu.be/wzWU7D0S9_8?feature=shared

REPAIR CAFES

Repair cafes are typically community-run events where volunteers gather to fix the broken items of strangers for free. My town started doing it a long time ago, and it was so popular that it now happens several times a year.

People bring in stand mixers, vacuums, computers, items that need sewing repairs, and more. Often, the person is very willing to explain the repairs as they do them.

In other places, repair cafes have become more permanent. For example, in Austria, the government started paying those who repair.

Repair cafes not only save people money, but they also can greatly reduce the amount of waste produced by saving those repaired items from the landfill.

More Info on Repair Cafes:

• https://youtu.be/6ZrnVobXWFQ