Building on what you said about it being “only a game” - I’m shocked sometimes by how often people are able to decouple fictional experiences with their real life… for example, one of the core messages of Subnautica is working with the environment rather than bending it to your will, and that was extremely impactful for me. Playing that game made me think so much about our own environment and my place in it (and still does). But my friend played it and his takeaway was “fun fish game” and nothing else.

Or like how right-wingers love Superman for some reason.

I don’t know how we combat this. Fiction and other mediums like art, aesthetic, style, etc offer an easy gateway into the world of solar punk, but how do we encourage people to actually… move through that gateway instead of just staying at the entrance?

This sounds cool as hell!! I love the display concept art. And I especially appreciate that there’s an option for staying at “home base” in the game - one of my first thoughts at the top of the article was “oh, I wouldn’t be able to do something like this because of my mobility limitations,” at which point I was proven wrong XD

Good work everyone!! I think we made something amazing and spread joy to the other instances <3 <3 hopefully some of them saw our work and want to come hang out with us too! I’m gonna be subscribing to pawb.social now since the furries were so fantastic c:

(side note: now I really want to learn how to do pixel art so I can design something cool for next year… I don’t need a new hobby. I don’t need a new hobby. I don;t need a new hobby–)

I just woke up and checked the canvas, continuing the sunset behind the flower looks SO GOOD <3 <3 y’all did an amazing job

Signing off for the night, if anyone has time to fill in the rest of the yellow around the “I’m Old” area I’d be grateful but I just can’t stay up that late. Cheers everyone can’t wait to see it completed!!

Hehehe the sus flower made me laugh out loud when I saw it XD

I’ve finally convinced my partner to make a slrpnk.net account because they saw me happily filling in squares of sunset and wanted to participate. Never mind that I’ve extolled the virtues of slrpnk.net in general for months XDD

I think this is super important. While I wish people would get into solarpunk stuff because it’s the right thing to do, generally speaking, people don’t have the capacity to think about idealogical stuff constantly, or plain just don’t want to. I finally built a habit of brushing my teeth twice a day because I love how my nice clean teeth feel and that I can read a book on my phone while I do it, not by telling myself about cavities constantly.

Sewing your own clothes - it’s fun and you can make it exactly the way you want it, suiting your exact body type!!

Using devices until they’re dead-dead - if a little tinkering can make them run longer, why waste the money? I could spend that on so many video games. Plus when you get a new laptop or whatever you have to go through the whole process of setting it up and transferring all of your stuff over…

Reusable mugs/water bottles - they’re cute and fashionable and I can coordinate them with my outfits + tbh I find it extremely annoying to look around trying to find a trash can for a plastic water bottle or Starbucks cup. Or they pile up in the car which is also annoying af

Using bar soap instead of liquid hand soap or body wash - it’s SOOOO much cheaper which means that you can either buy more of it OR spend that money on wonderful artisan soaps, which is what I do. I love my special goats milk soaps with all the wonderful smells and designs you just can’t get from Walmart

good morning (where I am) - it’s a perfect spot and thanks to everyone who’s expanded it!! I’m adding a little sunset around the turtle and trees now

Oh - yes trim as needed! I figured we could just sort of scoot some little flowers in wherever they’ll fit rather than it being a specific shape. One of the furries suggested we could make tileable gardens to put around the map but I’m not quite that ambitious yet hehe

I made this teeny tiny little flower and grass pattern so we can fill in some of the white space, could someone add it to the template for me? I’m working on a more complex one too but I am no artist XD

I have a powerful air purifier inside my home, but for leaving it, I would really like to protect my lungs from particulates (my area is being hit hard by wildfires right now). Is my best option just buying and wearing KN95s like usual or is there something better I could get and buy a box of filters for?

Cheers to using the library!! I don’t go often but I do love my Libby app

I’d never heard of OpenStreetMap and I’ve gone down the rabbit hole since last night - this is cool as hell, thank you for introducing me!!

that’s so cool!! I would much rather have tomatoes than a lawn. Also very cool that you’re giving away your tomatoes - I think I’ll try something like that with my basil!

• Thrifting, sewing, and mending my clothes instead of buying new
• Using the AC as little as possible and participating in peakbusting as much as I can
• Reading a lot to learn important concepts - currently reading Emergent Strategy by adrienne maree brown
• Teaching myself the basics of coding so I can make my own personal website
• Hosting a monthly community night at my house where folks can connect in a comfortable environment
• I’ve recently gotten into kandi and so far I haven’t bought a single pony bead new!!
• Setting up a balcony garden
• Making eraser stamps so I can customize my clothes and make patches

I’m most proud of the balcony garden, if we’re being honest. I’ve never gardened a single time before but my tomato plants are apparently growing me some tomatoes and that’s insane. Truthfully, most of what I’ve grown (tomatoes) isn’t offsetting what I’d buy, but learning about the natural world has been really special given that my disabilities mean I can’t really go foraging or hiking or anything like that. It’s also given me the opportunity to say hi to my neighbors when they’re outside!

I think you make a great point. Rather than separating us into our own corner, we should be actively participating in the community at large. Thanks!!

That makes sense! Regarding a disability focused community, I’d love to talk about how disabled folks fit into a solarpunk utopia! I’m thinking about how public transport is frequently necessary for folks with disabilities and also benefits everyone else, the idea of a car-free society (like I love the idea of going bikes-only but I cannot safely ride one), making solarpunk hobbies like DIY, gardening, tech hobbies, etc more accessible for different needs, things like learning ASL together to be more inclusive of Deaf communities or improving access to/DIYing Braille-typing devices (which are currently insanely expensive to buy), etc. I’m sure others will have more ideas too. I think it also just feels weird to me that being inclusive of disability is a part of solarpunk but we don’t have a place for people with disabilities to discuss what that means. Thoughts?

Hey, has anyone set up a queer slrpnk community yet? And if not, how would I go about doing that? I’m really surprised I haven’t been able to find one since queer culture and solarpunk values seem extremely intertwined. Same question for a disability slrpnk community!

In other news - for my personal solarpunk journey, I’ve been peakbusting with a recent heatwave in my area and I’ve convinced a lot of friends locally to do it as well! It’s kind of fun honestly. We’ve been going to a local pool, hanging out, doing non-tech activities, etc. I’m well suited to warm weather anyway, but my dog gets pretty overheated, so I’ve been making him a bunch of delicious freezer treats which seems to cool him off a lot, and dabbing him with a wet washcloth when he needs it.

My balcony garden is thriving. I really need to make a post to share with the balcony garden community - it was the folks there who helped me get started and gave me ideas on how to handle the water situation. I almost never have to fetch water from the kitchen now thanks to the buckets I put out on the roof when it rains, as suggested by other users!

Aaaand to wrap things up, I’m working on a lot of sewing and clothing related projects recently. A couple t-shirts I haven’t been wearing are getting upcycled and Frankensteined together into a cute crop top and shorts set which I’m really excited about, and I got some textile medium and stamps to try decorating some of my other DIY outfits with paint :D I also have a plan to turn a pretty floral sheet I got from the thrift store into a cute pair of tiered palazzo pants. Will be sharing in the DIY area soon!!