#practical solarpunk

1. Does it have a spinny part that's not spinning, or isn't spinning the way it's supposed to? Look at it- is there anything stringy wound around the spinny part? Remove it. Applies to: vacuums, aquarium filters, blenders, and rototillers, weed eaters, and lawn mowers.

1.b Is there debris from the spinny part that is building up on an nearby surface? Remove it. Applies to: vacuums, lawnmowers, probably other things.

2. Does it have a part that air, water, or other materials move through? Look at it- is there a clog, even a small or flimsy looking one? Remove it. Applies to: lawnmowers, vacuums, pumps, probably more.

3. If it has a gas engine, does it have gas? The right kind of gas? Does it have oil? If it's electric, is it plugged in? Or is it's battery charged?

4. Does it have a filter? Is the filter dirty/clogged? Clean it. Applies to vacuums, pumps, and some small engines.

5. Is it electric? Is there a safety feature where it won't work unless a certain peice is in place? Is there something keeping it from popping up or into place? Remove it. Did a small plastic peice break off? Can you super glue it back on in a safe manner?

6. Are there fluid tanks? Do they have fluid levels between the empty and full marks?

7. Are there tubes and/or wires? Are they all attached and going where they're supposed to? If it has spark plugs, are they all where they're supposed to be? If it has belts, are they taut?

Besties there is so much you can do.

You got chores? Dishes one of them?

You can fill up the sink with water and wash with just that. Less water than constantly running

I find that gross but my grandma does it. When I do dishes I use a jar with a drop of soap, fill it with water, and dip my scrub brush in that so I'm not wasting soap.

Dry dishes with a towel

Air dry your dishes

You can also ask if you can keep a potted plant (edible plants are bonus points) or a garden

Also bonus points if you use food scraps for a garden. That's a whole topic for another post another day but seriously look into it

Or you can trade plants with friends and neighbors

Or steal cuttings

You can wash your clothes on cold, ask if you can hang dry your clothes

You can use eco friendly laundry detergent, or just start using the actual amount needed. That stuff is so concentrated it isn't even funny

Use reusables whenever you can

Try to eat less processed foods

Try to eat more plant based

Try to limit your car trips

Take walks and pick up litter

Go to the beach and pick up litter

Bonus points for separating recyclables

Learn to repair your clothes, a basic sewing kit should be all you need for simple mends

Shop at yard sales, thrift shops, second hand, or local

Shampoo bars

Soap bars

Yes including hand soap

Weave baskets out of toilet paper rolls. No idea how you do it but I've seen it and they look pretty cool

Learn an "old fashioned" skill, like spinning yarn, canning, gardening, basket weaving, wood carving, etc

This tote bag is nice and big but it had this annoying print on it because years ago i bought it at a fast fashion store to avoid a single use bag. And since i don't wanna be a walking ad and i am a little punk i am covering the print with patches. I might also make longer handles for it, so i can wear it over my shoulder. I painted most of the patches myself. This bag seems like a better place for them than my pants since i do wash my pants regularly /j. Also the weather in germany is always either too hot or too cold to wear denim jackets or vests (at least for my neurodivergent ass) so even though i do have a battle vest and a battle jacket, i barely wear them which is sad

So if u have some handy tote bags which have annoying logos on them, just cover it. U will probably use them more then since u put effort in it and they look much cooler :D

1. Soap* up/scrub your dishes:

2. Put a big pot in your sink:

3. Start rinsing your dishes:

4. Mmmm, dirty dish water**:

5. Let cool a bit if you used very hot water, then water plants of your choice***:

Do look up the grey water regulations in your area, at least so you know them. Read up a bit more on greywater systems. This may or may not be legal in your area, but understanding why it is or isn't can help you decide how to safely incorporate water reuse into your life.

One of the common big ones is that your not allowed to just let the water sit there, or pool on the ground. A common tactic is to divert the water below the surface of the soil, which can be accomplished easily. Some people don't want you to use kitchen grey water because of concerns around bacterial contamination from raw meat, etc, so consider how you're going to deal with that.

* don't use chlorine or borax (I don't know anyone who does for dishes, but you can't be sure on the internet). If you're quite concerned about your soap, get one that's labeled environmentally friendly or whatever.

** I'm a vegan so I don't have to worry about this, but if you're not, make sure you don't use waste water from dishes that had contact with raw meat or eggs. Because of potential bacterial contamination.

His point was quite simple: scientifically speaking, global capitalism “has made the depletion of resources so rapid, convenient and barrier-free that ‘earth-human systems’ are becoming dangerously unstable in response.” Therefore, he argued, the only scientific thing to do is revolt! Movements, not just individuals, are critical. What is required is action and thinking that do not fit within the dominant capitalist culture; and, said Werner, this is a matter not of opinion, but of geophysical dynamics.

I highly recommend this read if you are interested in de-centering the human narrative of Earth’s past, present, and future, in favor of something that captures the complex networks of beings and actions that create our world. 

Donna Haraway’s writing about the term Cthulucene as an alternative to Anthropocene or Capitalocene is frankly thrilling to me as a solarpunk. I am interested in reimagining how we create our world using language; who/what does [this word] center? Who/what does [that word] exclude? The linguistics of a social movement or revolution may appear trivial, but Haraway demonstrates how they are actually essential. 

Let’s hone our language into something that can, to the best of its ability, widen our perspectives past the anthropos, past the human narrative.

We must think!

When I was in second grade, my teacher put up a black and white drawing of seashell onto a slideshow and had us try to draw it. Why we were doing this, I forget—but I remember him encouraging us, pointing out how the image was constructed, saying, “there is no technical part of this that you can’t do.”

That’s what I’ve been thinking about lately as it applies to solarpunk, and to building practical skill sets within that realm. I don’t know how to make my own clothes—but I know how to sew and embroider, so I have the basic technique down. I don’t know how to make a pie, but I know how to mix ingredients, roll out dough, make a filling, and bake it. I don’t know how to set up a whole fire escape garden that will feed me and my roommates, but I know how to plant a seed or a starter and water and care for it. And when there are things I don’t even know the basics for, like tricky engineering or building something complex, I have perfected the technique of being able to reach out and ask for help.