Solarpunk
Contextual Citation
"Cyberpunk and Solarpunk are actually based on very similar tenets. Both contain the central idea that human nature doesn’t tend to change. The key difference is that Cyberpunk assumes that the worst human traits will dominate, leading greed and exploitation to win out. Consequently, Cyberpunk is full of grimdark dystopian visions and high levels of cynicism. Solarpunk in contrast assumes that the best human traits will dominate, giving more optimistic eutopian (not utopian) visions. Cyberpunk is in reaction to the shiny spacesuits and silver rockets of the 1960s. Solarpunk, in turn, is in reaction to Cyberpunk. Where Cyberpunk is about nihilism, Solarpunk is about anti-nihilism."
- A solarpunk statement [1]
Description
1. Ben Valentine:
"Solarpunk is a literary movement, a hashtag, a flag, and a statement of intent about the future we hope to create. It is an imagining wherein all humans live in balance with our finite environment, where local communities thrive, diversity is embraced, and the world is a beautiful green utopia.
...
The "solar" in Solarpunk is both a description and metaphor for the movement's commitment to a utopia that is accessible to every human on earth, as well as to all of our planet's lifeforms. No single business can capture and privatize sunlight to hoard it for itself or sell it at a cost. It's one of the only universally accessible goods. Solarpunk futures envision a world of distributed clean energy, available and benefiting everyone.
"The re-distribution of power, whether it's political or electric, is at the heart of my story," Solarpunk author, Alia Gee, tells Hopes&Fears. "Getting the power aspect taken care of is the only way I believe there can be a better future for everyone. (I'm very keen on the everyone part. Not just white males or CIS or human-like life forms.)"
In that way, Solarpunk centers on outsider and marginalized groups because it must. Those with the least access to power in today's paradigm will be those we must closely listen to if the Solarpunk dream is to be made a reality. For if it is to be sustainable, it will be essential to distribute power and infrastructure throughout independent communities.
...
So while Solarpunk at first glance centers around technologies that help create green utopias, the most important part of the movement is dealing with the real human challenges of living together on this planet.
That is likely due to the Solarpunk belief that the technology we need for a utopia is already here; we just haven't found the political will to enact one. As Solarpunk author, Claudie Arseneault tells Hopes&Fears, this is what makes Solarpunk so powerful, it "works from existing technologies, from things we already know are possible." Arseneault believes that, "Solarpunk is a genre that says both here's what our future needs to look like and here's how we can get there. That's fantastic."
The blossoming movement is positioned in contrast to the darkness of exceedingly popular apocalyptic science fiction today, offering instead a bright future. The "punk," of course, references and builds off of the two literary genres that predate it, Steampunk and Cyberpunk. Instead of looking back in time and relying on outdated technologies like steam power, Solarpunk makes use of the best technologies available today. And, instead of imagining dystopian futures of networked crime and surveillance, Solarpunk taps into an extant community.
...
While there are several books that fit into the Solarpunk genre, the term precedes any concrete literary or artistic movement. Aside from a few active Solarpunk Tumblrs, the most noteworthy publication from the genre is a Solarpunk anthology, which is only available in Portuguese. The editor of the anthology and a science fiction writer himself, Gerson Lodi Ribeiro, told Hopes&Fears that, "It's difficult to imagine the survival of humanity for the next one hundred years without shifting from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources."
(http://www.hopesandfears.com/hopes/city/life/215749-solarpunk)
2.
"It’s a name that’s been given to a movement/community centred around imagining a more sustainable future. Solarpunk has found expression in many art forms, including literature, fashion, and architecture. A prefigurative element within Solarpunk takes it beyond fantasy and fiction. What prefiguration means is enacting the changes you would like to see; and by doing this showing that a different world is possible. The hope is to inspire further change, instead of relying on fear to motivate action.
The Solarpunk label reflects both this positive outlook and other elements within it. Rather than rejecting technology, Solarpunk embraces its use where this enables us to live more sustainably. Solar energy embodies many of its central themes - a green, infinite source of power, freely available to everyone. Inclusivity and equality are prominent strands within the Solarpunk vision, along with rejection of unsustainable consumption. The ‘-punk’ part of the name reflects the challenges it presents to some aspects of our current way of life. Possibly the closest thing you’ll find to a mainstream depiction of a Solarpunk future is the land of Wakanda in Marvel’s Black Panther. However, a key point is that it’s also about what we do in the here and now. Anyone can be part of the Solarpunk movement today, through activities such as sourcing clothing sustainably or rewilding our garden - it’s simply about exploring ways of living in greater harmony with nature.
The future we’re presented with is often so bleak that people want to look away; Solarpunk aims to provide hope, through an alternative inspiring vision. In a recent survey less than 10% of people wanted life to return to normal after lockdown. Many had noticed positive differences such as improved air quality, more wildlife, and stronger communities. These changes could become permanent, but we risk drifting back to business as usual.
Solarpunk offers a vision of what the future could be, not what it will be. We can’t rely on others to make it happen - if it’s a future we want, it’s down to all of us to make it real."
(https://www.solarpunkstorytelling.com/about/solarpunk/)
Characteristics
By Dr. Paul J. Dylan-Ennis:
"The three Ps of solarpunk Web3 (as I hope everyone will now call them) are closely related. The first, an emphasis on creating positive externalities, is based on a recognition of tech’s history of producing negative externalities, such as fake news spreading on Meta. Solarpunks are committed to conscious tech building, where you take into account the implications of your project beyond your immediate community.
The textbook definition for public goods, P number two, are goods that are non-excludable and non-rivalrous. This means you can’t stop anyone from using them and using them does not diminish them for anyone else. In the solarpunk context, it originally meant a focus on unprofitable but necessary infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, but has since expanded to helping fund good causes beyond Web3 as well.
Finally, positive sum world-building is the guiding star for solarpunks – the effort to build a better world for tomorrow. If contemporary crypto culture is focused on financial immediacies (like rug-pulling or raising funds just to raise funds), solarpunks attempt to break the cycle by actually building public goods with positive externalities that last beyond us, at a civilizational level.
(https://www.coindesk.com/layer2/2022/09/20/what-are-solarpunk-and-lunarpunk-anyway/?)
More information
- A solarpunk manifesto at https://solarpunk-aesthetic.tumblr.com/post/166295059920/a-solarpunk-statement