#solarpunk world

Like its almost 5am so I’m gonna be rambly but like. A lot of the most common features of Solarpunk art so far are a bit of an art-noveau type look, with lots of stained glass. Heavy emphasis on solar power and windpower and trees. In no way, shape, or form am I going to pretend this is BAD! I love this look, I think its great and inspiring and I love the color green I just.

Maybe Solarpunk doesn’t mean ‘green’ for everyone everywhere. Solarpunk might be more… yellows, and reds, and oranges. If you live in a desert, where there aren’t a lot of trees. I’m thinking places like Arizona, New Mexico, Niger, Chad, Libya. What would solarpunk fashion look like in these places—I feel like embroidered jean overalls won’t be common here. Traditional wear from these places is GORGEOUS, and I’d love to see more of a highlight on it and these biomes in Solarpunk. What would the housing look like—how would you keep cool indoors and out? I’ve seen a few ideas put into practice, but what would you dream up? How would you make them fun?

Similarly, how about coastal communities? Sure there’d be lots of green—but green may stand for seaweed just as much as it would trees. Not to mention the vibrant blues of the sky and seas, and the rainbow of colors from coral and seashells and glittering scales. What would a solarpunk community look like along the coasts of places like Florida, Hawaii, Jamaica, etc.? How are some of these places already Solarpunk? Wind and solar power could be an option, but we can also use hydropower as well—what would a solarpunk hydropower system look like in your wildest dreams? Fish-shaped spinning turbines underwater, swimming like sharks? Would houses float and bob along the water? How would gardening be handled with mostly salt water around—rain water capture would be critical, I feel—or desalination of small amounts of salt water. What would the fashion look like HERE? What does it look like already?

What does solarpunk look like in snowy places—like Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Russia? When green comes around in spring and summer, but fall and winter brings expanses of snow and ice? Solarpunk fashion here would be a LOT cozier than the solarpunk fashion on a Florida beach. I’m imagining lots of furs and layers. How would traditional practices be used to stay safe and warm, how would energy be captured and stored during long and dark winters? Would communities here be more nomadic, traveling further south during the coldest months, or would they stay where they are and construct homes that easily stay warm with little output?

Going to the library with a giant list organized by books and items your borrowing and craft supplies, walking into the library its like an archive of stuff for you to have without worry.

Biking your way casually to a park thats holding a movie night, a picnic basket attached on the back, and meeting up with your friends on the way over at sunset just as they start airing the bloopers before the movie starts and you settle in.

Spending sleepless nights in a cafe with an open ceiling so stars pour in while you paint some project and work away while sipping tea until sunrise. Catch up with a neighbour who wakes up early to deliver mail on the way out

Because my silly little brain is hyperactive as heck.

"It takes a village to raise a child"? That's true now. The kids in the commune don't need to have dictated caregivers, they just chill with who they want. Houses welcome to children can be marked with a special symbol- Every adult who feels comfortable with kids is in a special groupchat (or the like) for the collective parents to chat about how their kids are all doing. Those adults who don't want to be kid-raisers don't join the group chat and don't mark their house, and kids are taught to not to bother them.

We all pitch in to help with the commune, but also to cover each other on days we can't work for whatever reason! Is it shabbat? Is your mom sick? Are your migraines bad today? Are you feeling burnt out? Do you just not want to? Then you don't have to work to do anything. Of course, a whole lot of manual labor (such as milling wheat and other grains into flour) would be automated with robots! The ickiest worst jobs aren't for anyone.

Lights! Lights on Hanukkah, on Diwali, on Christmas. Window-shutters close automatically on houses past sunset so inhabitants can have their lights on without polluting and confusing animal life. Floating lanterns, a soft glow on a gentle face, kids laughing with fireflies cupped in their hands, a dazzling array of stars blinking quietly down on the Earth..

Allergies, intolerances, and food sensitivities are all respected and taken careful note of, and restaurants offer a diverse array of options including vegan meals and allergy-friendly kosher and halal menus!

Kids are considered kids until their brain is fully developed, but are given agency as soon as they can articulate and move themselves. Kids aren't allowed to leave the commune without supervision, though, but inside the commune it's totally alright cuz eyes on the street.

High-tech hormone readers on cameras with AI trained to detect signs of distress and assault, and begin blaring a loud alarm, could be placed wherever. I'm not one for surveillance states, but if we have fire alarms, we could have alarms for other things too, right?

Communal service dogs! Someone had a seizure, a stroke? BARK BARK BARK BAKRBABRKABABRK

In the cities, perhaps a commune is considered your 15-minute sphere? They're divided and governed as such, but cities can also have higher levels of division if necessary.

Food factories! Greenhouses the size of commercial warehouses, giant aquaponics facilities, all kept by robots and an automatic delivery service to restaurants or homes or wherever need be.

Rajumari Ratnavati Girls School and Woman's Center was designed by Diana Kellogg and built in the Thar Desert region of Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, India.

It is a safe place for the education of girls and women, and is made with locally sourced sandstone by local workers. Even the technology for water collection was sourced from local experts of traditional knowledge.

The whole building was designed to promote airflow, collect rainwater, and both shade and power the school with a solar-panel canopy. The walls block the sun and not the air, utilizing passive-solar cooling

"These methods have actually managed to reduce the heat in the classrooms to sometimes 20-30f cooler." Diana Kellogg

Fellow solarpunk genre fans, have you ever seen the algae-powered lamps? They were a popular topic back in 2013 when a man named Pierre Calleja suggested using them.

During the day, the algae uses C02 and sunlight to create energy through photosynthesis, and at night the lamp uses that stored energy to light the area.

" Basically, an algae lamp can remove as much CO2 in one year as a tree would in its lifetime." — Smithsonian Magazine

A schematic showing the design of an algae street light.    image by Peter Horvath via designboom

Using the natural energy reserves of algae may actually limit it's lifespan, so other companies are now looking towards bioluminescent algae. These algae glow naturally, so there is no need to syphon energy from them.

As of right now, those companies are still working on ways to make the glow brighter, but if it works, their blue lights could give a power-free way to light a street while the algae is also munching on C02.

Realistically, there are problems with algae lamps, such as:

How would it work in freezing climates?

How often the glass will need cleaning (though self-cleaning glass could be an option)?

Would it put off enough light to be comparable to actual street lights?