“Is It Possible To Turn Things Around By 2050? The Answer Is Absolutely Yes,” Says Kai Chan, A Professor

I’m having to help with some kind of campaign with a Big Hort company this year for some of our nursery stock and I do not enjoy being able to see this deep into corporate Hort. It is all ad revenue and pdfs and interfaces and sales reps down here. hellish

no, listen, when I say I want to integrate more specific solarpunk stuff in my life, i don’t mean to ask for yet again new “aesthetic” clothes that now you have to buy or make to show your support of the movement (screw that i’m consuming enough as it is), or more posts about impossible house goals, or whatever, I’m asking you what my options to build a portable and eco friendly phone charger are, im asking you viable tiny-appartment edible plants growing tricks on a budget,  im asking tips to slow down when my mind and society tell me im not fast enough, i don’t need more rich art nouveau amateurs aesthetics or pristine but cold venus project, okay, i know i should joins associations where I am tho i’m constantly on the move, thanks for that, just, you know, can we get a bit more practical ??? how do I hack my temporary flat into going off the grid for the time i’m here

Those “clean energy is ready to go whenever” memes annoy the hell out of me because they’re typically ignoring two-thirds of the issue.

In a nutshell, there are three legs of energy infrastructure:

Power generation: Getting the power in a useful form

Power transport: Getting the power in a useful form where you need it

Power storage: Getting the power in a useful form when you need it

In  some respects, clean power generation is, indeed, a solved problem; clean transport and storage, however, are not. For many applications, no good non-polluting alternatives exist, and when they do, the environmental costs of setting up and maintaining those alternatives are not, themselves, insignificant. (Look up what goes into your average rechargeable battery some time!)

No, that doesn’t mean it’s an impossible problem, nor does it in any way excuse the continued intransigence of the the petrochemical industry. It does mean that there’s still a great deal of important work to be done, and it’s galling that so many self-labelled environmentalists are just casually contemptuous of it all - often to the extent of accusing researchers in power transport and storage of being oil industry shills for having the temerity to discuss the remaining challenges - because “clean energy is ready to go whenever”.

Fun fact, hammering metal spikes into tree trunks is a federal crime in the US because environmental activists used to do it in the 80s to fuck up chainsaws and logging equipment.

Neglected pastures thrive under solar panels

Solar panels could increase productivity on pastures that are not irrigated and even water-stressed, a new study finds. The new study published in PLOS One by researchers at Oregon State College finds that grasses and plants flourish in the shade underneath solar panels because of a significant change in moisture. The results bolster the argument for agrovoltaics, the concept of using the same area of land for solar arrays and farming. The idea is to grow food and produce clean energy at the same time.

Cleaning the oceans one step at a time

Two Australians created this container that collects plastic, paper, oil, fuel and detergent floating in the ocean. They want to implement it the middle of next year to clean up the sea worldwide. It seems a great idea. The only “but” as always is money, so they are raising funds to get to their goal. You can see their project and donations here.

Probably the saddest sign of our times is how many people respond with complete bewilderment if you mention direct action. Cutting border fences? punching nazis? sharing resources? blocking arms transports? building alternatives? They’re not even outraged, they’re just confused. 

It’s like they’re so caught up in the spectacle of petitions, calling senators, ‘awareness’ and media visbility that they’ve completely forgotten that you can also just do shit without begging for permission. 

so i just heard about solarpunk today and i LOVE the idea. 

Does the vertical garden in Milan count as something you could call “solarpunk”?