Solarpunk Presents

Is there anything more solarpunk than public libraries? Serving at the heart of communities, they’re a place where anyone regardless of income, ability, race, class, or gender can go to read books, listen to music, use the internet, learn things, hear story hour, get out of the weather for a while, and ask librarians for information on just about anything, including what organizations to turn to for additional support in your life or endeavor. In Episode 2 of Season 2 of Solarpunk Presents, Christina talks to Don Gardner, a librarian for many years for the Salinas Public Libraries in Monterey County, California. Hear about how people rescued the library after the city council tried to close it down to save money, about what libraries can do for you and your community, and about what you can do for your local library.Check out Salinas Public Libraries at https://salinaspubliclibrary.org/ and connect with them @salinaslibrary on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, or @salinaspubliclibrary on Instagram and TikTok.Connect with Solarpunk Presents Podcast on Mastodon @solarpunkpresents@climatejustice.rocks, or at our blog https://solarpunkpresents.com/Connect with Ariel at her blog and on Mastodon @arielkroon@wandering.shopConnect with Christina at her blog, on Twitter @xtinadlr, and on Mastodon @xtinadlr@wandering.shopSupport the show on Patreon or make a one-time donation via PayPal. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Does solarpunk dream utopic dreams of clean, just, green cities that are great places to live in vibrant communities with other people? Or is solarpunk about getting back to the land, having your own chickens, being self-sufficient, and helping out your neighbors? City dweller Ariel, who dreams of life in the countryside, and countryside dweller Christina, who sees the advantages of city life, consider the pros and cons of trying to live urban versus rural solarpunk lives.Here are links to some of the literature we discussed:https://www.williamcronon.net/writing/Trouble_with_Wilderness_Main.htmlhttps://archive.org/details/boston-hearth-project-by-tjwatson/mode/2up?view=theaterConnect with Solarpunk Presents Podcast on Twitter @SolarpunkP or Mastodon @solarpunkpresents@climatejustice.rocks or solarpunkpresents.comConnect with Ariel at her blog, on Twitter at @arielletje, and on Mastodon @arielkroon@wandering.shopConnect with Christina at her blog, on Twitter @xtinadlr, and on Mastodon @xtinadlr@wandering.shopSupport the show on Patreon or make a one-time donation via PayPal.Ariel's note: this is a constructed debate, and not necessarily reflective of the opinions of all solarpunks everywhere, but a debate that Christina and I see fairly often in solarpunk spaces, so we wanted to duke it out in a fun and engaging way to provoke thought. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the finale of Solarpunk Presents' first-ever season, Ariel and Christina sit down to chat together about the Winter Solstice - Christina brings the scientific knowledge, Ariel brings a few book recommendations, and we discuss traditions of celebrating the return of the sun (as we've experienced them in the northern hemisphere). What are your favourite solstice traditions? Do you have recommendations of good solarpunk solstice stories to cozy up with? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the changing climate increasingly disrupts our ways of life, we have three choices: do nothing, attempt to stop or even reverse climate change, and/or figure out how to withstand it. Option one is a terrible idea and the ship has (mostly) sailed on option two. But option three is how we learn to live—and maybe even thrive—in our changing world. Part of this is figuring out how to convey the information that climate researchers have gathered to the people—like farmers, water managers, and urban planners—who need to make decisions now—about things like what crops to plant, where to get water for everyone and how to allocate it, and where to plant trees—for both the near and slightly distant future. In this episode, we’re talking to Professor Lisa Dilling, of the University of Colorado, Boulder, about building networks of people through which information about regional climate predictions can flow to people and information about the needs, predicaments, and questions of people can flow to climate researchers.You can follow Lisa Dilling on Twitter at @LisaD144, and the Western Water Assessment program at University of Colorado here: @WWAnews or visit their website at https://wwa.colorado.edu/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode, Ariel chats with Heather MacKenzie, Executive Director of Solar Alberta, about transitioning to renewable energy deep in the heart of oil and gas country - in a just and sustainable way. Join us to learn about the history of the Solar Alberta organization, from its grassroots beginnings in neighbourhood solar projects, to dealing with (government-funded!) trolls online, all the way up to being the leading non-profit solar organization in Alberta and providing worker upskilling in a unique market.You can go to https://solaralberta.ca to learn more, or connect with and follow them on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You don't have to be a solarpunk—or a lunarpunk—to dream of bioluminescence, from twinkling phytoplankton to glowing lamps, phosphorescent fungi, and jellyfish lit up like space ships. To honor those dreams, we talked to Dr. Steve Haddock, Senior Scientist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) and leading expert on the things that glow, flash, and train headlights through the dark waters of the deep sea. Join us for this conversation about how bioluminescence works, what critters are capable of it and what they use it for, and whether or not our visions of bioluminescent street lamps stand a chance of coming true.You can also follow Steve Haddock on Twitter @beroe and learn more about bioluminescence at https://biolum.eemb.ucsb.edu/. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode, Ariel sits down with Justine Norton-Kertson, editor of the forthcoming BIOLUMINESCENT: A LUNARPUNK ANTHOLOGY. They discuss what lunarpunk is in contrast to solarpunk, what inspired Justine to put together an anthology of lunarpunk fiction, and a sneak peek at some of the participating authors and the content that fans can expect to encounter! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Solarpunk is all about vibrant, beautiful, livable cities filled with plants, public transportation, and solar panels—in other words, nothing like the congested, polluted, inhospitable messes we live in today. How do we start making the great transformation? Simply by starting. Join us for a conversation with Dr Jayde Lin Roberts about having a voice in the development (or redevelopment) of your neighborhood or city. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Solarpunk Presents, nonfiction co-editor Ariel Kroon sits down for a virtual chat with Gabrielle Gelderman, an Edmonton, Alberta-based climate grief chaplain and climate justice organizer. They talk about what climate grief chaplaincy even is, the necessity of holding communal safe spaces for grieving especially for organizers, the necessity of feeling grief in order to feel more positive emotions, and climate despair as a corollary of solarpunk hope.Links:Gabrielle's Instagram: @theclimatechaplainGabrielle’s LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/gabthechaplainClimate Justice Edmonton (CA)Faith Matters Network (US)Sunrise Youth Organization (US)*Note: During the interview, Ariel mentions episode 4.30 of Secret Feminist Agenda; the name of the theorist she cites is Eugenia Zuroski. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Christina talks to Dr Hélène Jacot Des Combes, Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change Adaptation Advisor to the National Disaster Management Office of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. They discuss sea level rise, infrastructure that can adapt to climate change, and land reclamation and protection. Dr Des Combes speaks passionately about reparations (for decades of colonialism, the US’s testing of atomic weapons on the atolls of the Marshall Islands, forced relocation of the Marshallese people, climate injustice, and much more) and advocates for the Marshallese peoples’ right to their own lands. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.