SolarpunkAlanaAs kids, we love nature, and yet as adults, we're more disconnected from nature than we ever have been before. So what is it that lies between a four year old's love of wildlife and a twenty-four year old's depression as they spend day in, day out, indoors? Well, the education system - and a sprinkling of capitalism, of course.
Timestamps:
0:00: Introduction 0:50 Curbing the Wild Out of the Kid 5:52 Higher Education is a Hot Mess 11:29 The State of Conservation Careers 14:19 A Solarpunk Education
Sources:
Thumbnail: Nausicaa Valley of the Wind - Studio Ghibli
Why Education for Nature Lovers SucksSolarpunkAlana2024-07-03 | As kids, we love nature, and yet as adults, we're more disconnected from nature than we ever have been before. So what is it that lies between a four year old's love of wildlife and a twenty-four year old's depression as they spend day in, day out, indoors? Well, the education system - and a sprinkling of capitalism, of course.
Timestamps:
0:00: Introduction 0:50 Curbing the Wild Out of the Kid 5:52 Higher Education is a Hot Mess 11:29 The State of Conservation Careers 14:19 A Solarpunk Education
Sources:
Thumbnail: Nausicaa Valley of the Wind - Studio Ghibli
Other: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1618866707000301 My experiences + MoreWhy Rewilding Should Be More AnarchistSolarpunkAlana2024-09-24 | We're in an ecological crisis and sixth mass extinction event, yet conservation and rewilding efforts, especially in the UK, are very slow. Many of our native species are still locally extinct, the government refuses to release beavers into the English countryside, and yet our wildlife and nature is declining at a rapid rate. Is the solution to take a more anarchist approach to rewilding and release species under the cover of darknes - also known as guerilla rewilding?
Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 00:23 The Ecological Crisis 04:27 Rewilding - Research or Action? 11:33 Guerilla Rewilding 16:08 Should Rewilding Be More Anarchist?
Inspired by Eleanor Catton's novel Birnham Wood Random books, opinions, articles, and conversations I've read and had over the years...What the Economy of the Future Looks LikeSolarpunkAlana2024-09-07 | Most of us are aware that our profit-driven, capitalist economy is driving our climate and ecological crises. But what are our alternatives? After all, there are so many to choose from: other market economies, the circular economy, the degrowth economy, the wellbeing economy, the solidarity economy, the gift economy... but the question is, which of these will make an ultimate solarpunk economy?
Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 00:36 Capitalism and Markets 05:59 The Circular Economy 09:05 The Degrowth Economy 12:22 The Solidarity Economy 17:45 What would a solarpunk economy look like?
Various sources over the years including articles, social media, and discussions with friends and knowledgeable peeps (who I'm blessed to have a lot of in my life)Why the ‘Nature VS Housing’ Debate Makes No SenseSolarpunkAlana2024-08-17 | The UK has a big housing crisis, with hundreds of thousands homeless and millions on waiting lists. Yet there's been a lot of pushback at Labour's new pledge to build 1.5 million new homes, with people angry that these housing developments will further encroach on and destroy our already limited nature. So, what's the solution? And how can we build housing in a solarpunk way, ensuring there is enough room for both people and nature? Well, the answer lies in architecture, community design, and systemic change (such as co-housing and housing cooperatives). Watch the video to find out more!
Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 00:51 The UK's Housing Crisis 04:58 NIMBYism, Nature, and the Right 10:33 Solarpunk Solutions to Housing 19:11 Quick Outro
Sources:
Thumbnail: Kiki's Delivery Service - Studio Ghibli
Videos such as Andrewism's on third places The Solidarity Economy - The Solidarity Economy Association Lots of random videos, social posts, news articles and media over the years My brain :)How We Can Build a Better World, Right NowSolarpunkAlana2024-07-23 | Climate change is here, our ecological systems are collapsing, our social systems are messed up... and still, all we can do is vote, donate to charities, invest in dubious for-profits or undertake small individual actions. Right? Well, there is a 5th way we can save the world - another way to build a solarpunk world. It's called prefiguration.
Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 00:55 I'm feeling a bit disepowered, actually 06:55 Creating a new world out of the shell of the old 11:28 Building a solarpunk world
General: (Book) The Solidarity Economy - The Solidarity Economy Association Anark: youtube.com/watch?v=iyLsWGJ-fSA Andrewism: youtube.com/watch?v=hfJMVb34FCo Many things I’ve read over the years which I have now forgotten, sorry oops My own brainWill Talking to Whales Save the Planet?SolarpunkAlana2024-06-07 | In August 2021, scientists had a conversation with a wild animal, in its own language, for the very first time in human history. Could us growing the ability to talk to animals be the start of a new era for us, one where we live peacefully and cooperatively with the other lifeforms around us?
Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 0:25 We could all be Disney princesses 6:16 Human cries fall on deaf ears 8:14 Communication: is it actually that important?
Other: My LinkedIn feed My brain with thanks to 'opabinnier' for telling me I'm a tedious bint with childish hand gesturesThe Strange Case of Rewilding in BritainSolarpunkAlana2024-05-15 | Rewilding in Britain is a touchy subject - we started colonialist conservation, but now don't want to reintroduce predators here; regenerative meat agriculture is on the rise, but no one's talking about permaculture; and most of nature and rewilding is owned and controlled by the rich and the rulemakers.
0:00 Intro 0:39 The wild is okay, as long as it's far away... 5:28 No nature, no food; too much nature, no food 11:28 The countryside: an issue of class and legalities 16:15 End noteThe Robot Revolution: Solarpunk or Dystopia?SolarpunkAlana2024-04-27 | Are robots and AI going to lead us towards a path of dystopia, or could they actually help us build a better world?
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro 00:29 AI in the World Right Now 03:10 AI in a Solarpunk Future 03:56 AI for Labour Reduction 06:20 AI for Nature Restoration 08:32 AI for Healthcare 10:06 AI Think Therefore AI Am
NBC News: youtube.com/watch?v=TYbRNQ3LxwUHow Nature is Being Exploited by Eco-CapitalistsSolarpunkAlana2024-04-14 | Natural capital is the new 'in thing', but can biodiversity credits really save us from all our woes, or are they just another trick in late-stage capitalism's book?
0:00: Intro 0:16: Nature Fintech: The New, Shiny, Trendy Way to Save Nature and Make Money 3:30: If Capitalism Was a Known Law of the Universe 6:53: Breaking Free from the Shackles of Finance 14:29: End Note
Other sources of specific companies I talked about have been kept hidden.Climate Cafes Are Changing the Way We ThinkSolarpunkAlana2024-01-04 | Climate cafes are popping up all over the world to help communities discuss their issues and find solutions to these autonomously. But, if we look closely at this model, we may find it is laying the ground for a revolution in politics...
00:00 Introduction 00:19 Eco Anxiety 03:02 The Climate Cafe 04:42 Community Organising
#environment #climatechange #politicsChange Starts with Solarpunk StoriesSolarpunkAlana2023-11-25 | We are surrounded by a vast quantity of fiction - novels, games, movies, and more. Yet, even within the science fiction genre, these are rarely hopeful or utopic... and that needs to change. Here's why.
00:00 - Intro 00:27 - Without hopeful art, the world remains sh*t 02:02 - Science-fiction: A horror-lover's fantasy 03:38 - From cyberpunk to solarpunkThe World is On Fire - So Whats Next?SolarpunkAlana2023-09-23 | As the impacts of climate change worsen around us, it's time to evaluate how we can build a better world in the wake of wildfires.
Sources: https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/
Book recs about communalism/social ecology: - Murray Bookchin's books. I haven't read any of them in full, as they are quite dense - so fair warning - For an example of a communalist society: Internationalist Commune of Rojava - Make Rojava Green Again and Social Ecology and the Rojava Revolution - For fiction: Ursula K Le Guinn's The Dispossessed
00:00 Intro 00:45 An Overview of the Climate Crisis 02:42 Quick-Fixes to the Climate Crisis 05:27 Social Ecology and Communalism 08:40 How the World Could BeAre Orcas Saving the Planet?SolarpunkAlana2023-07-19 | Orca 'uprisings' have been the scary news headlines of the past few months. But what are the real reasons behind these stories?
Sources:
Papers:
Coll, M., Libralato, S., Tudela, S., Palomera, I., and Pranovi, F. (2008) Ecosystem overfishing in the ocean. PLoS One, 3(12), e3881.
Dulvy, N. K., et al. (2021) Overfishing drives over one-third of all sharks and rays toward a global extinction crisis. Current Biology, 31(21), 4773-4787.
Esteban, R., López, A., de los Rios, Á.G., Ferreira, M., Martinho, F., Méndez‐Fernandeza, P., Andréu, E., García‐Gómez, J.C., Olaya‐Ponzone, L., Espada‐Ruiz, R. and Gil‐Vera, F.J., 2022. Killer whales of the Strait of Gibraltar, an endangered subpopulation showing a disruptive behavior. Marine mammal science, 38(4), 1699-1709.
FAO. (2017) The future of food and agriculture: Trends and challenges. Rome.
Palomares, M. L. D., et al. (2020) Fishery biomass trends of exploited fish populations in marine ecoregions, climatic zones and ocean basins. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 243, 106896.
Chapters: 00:00 Intro 00:37 The Ecology of Orcas 01:44 A Case of Bad Journalism? 03:32 Orcas Just Wanna Have Fun 04:42 Orcas on the Defence 06:09 The State of Our Oceans 07:33 Solutions to Our PredorcamentSewage is Flooding England, and Water Bosses are Laughing All the Way to the BankSolarpunkAlana2023-05-27 | Sewage pollution has been one of Britain's worst scandals over the past few years. But, how bad is the problem really, and how can we fix it?