#eco-anarchy

[dailyanarchistposts]

The Politics & Art of Solarpunk

Although solarpunk never had a particular political ideology assigned to it, it’s been embraced by liberatory ideologies of all flavours. From social ecologists to post-civ anarchists to green socialists.

The philosophy of solarpunk and the politics of anarchism are practically built for each other. Anarchism emphasises personal freedom and collective liberation from hierarchies, authoritarianism, and exploitation. It seeks, as an ongoing project, common ownership, voluntary cooperation, horizontal organization, and mutual aid. Anarchism has generally been ahead of its time on many political issues, from queer to women’s liberation, and its approach to ecology has been no different.

Solarpunk can easily be synthesized with anarchism, and many of its various strains, as it explores the possibilities of liberatory technology, the localization of production, an end to destructive and wasteful consumption, and a reorientation of our relationship with society, work, nature, and ourselves.

It all sounds pretty gooey and feel good. But I want to briefly address those that have lost hope in a better world. Who are stuck thinking that this, largely, is the best that we can do. There’s this idea in politics these days that imagination has no place in our “pragmatic”, no-nonsense world. Which is just false. Humans are flexible creatures, capable of a whole range of social arrangement. If everyone limited themselves to the confines of what is, we wouldn’t be where we are today. It’s time to take some steps forward, with a variety of tactics in hand.

One of which is art. Art has a tremendous influence on us. Music, books, paintings, TV shows, movies, etc, they shape our ideas of what humanity is and what humanity can be. While there haven’t been many major examples of solarpunk art and entertainment yet, I think we can change that. There are interesting stories to be explored and debates to be had, through art. Imagine a novel that explores the different sides and dimensions of the debate on meat consumption in a solarpunk world or a comic that follows a community’s journey as it seeks to rewild and resuscitate the surrounding ecology.

Or picture this. Maybe alongside a game that imagines a horrifying endgame that maintains capitalism, like Cyberpunk 2077, we imagine an uplifting, yet still challenging game that exercises our ability to balance the needs of our local ecosystem and deal with the difficult decisions and conflicts that arise as we reorient our place in the world. Could call it Solarpunk 2033 or something. There’s a free idea right there.

[thyofthee]

Liberals use minorities as pawns to their economic gain.

Eco-Fascists use minorities as scapegoats for their movement.

Eco-Anarchists know that the government and capitalism is the cancer on nature.

[anarcho-catboyism]

Horrible fact of the day: Chevron just released a new boat fuel that WILL give you cancer.

Not "might", not "could", WILL. It has a cancer ratio of 1.3:1, as in, in a group of 10 people, 10 would contract CANCER.

(Edit: apparently some articles are now saying 1.4:1, and some are saying a little under that. Either way, the consensus seems to be anywhere between a 95-100+% of contracting cancer, with some expectations of this fuel not even needing a full lifetime of exposure for you to get Cancer.)

The EPA's safety limit is 1:1,000,000 as in 1 in a million people get cancer.

The EPA approved it anyways. I am not joking. The EPA approved a boat fuel that has a near 100% chance of giving someone cancer. It has such a good chance of giving someone cancer that if you DIDN'T get cancer YOU WOULD BE AN OUTLIER.

Fuck the oil industries.

Edit: If you find this (rightfully) horrifying, have you considered industrial sabotage? /hj

This isn't something we can vote away. This isn't something the rich are gonna apologize and make a 10 minute apology video for this. They don't care if you starve or wither in hospitals or get blown up in their wars.

If you don't know where to get started:

If you already know what to do, then it's time to do it. Participate in mutual aid, raise awareness in real life as well as online, participate in or train in self defense and emergency medical training classes.

[gayhenrycreel]

"humans are inherently violent theres no way we could survive without a dictator to control us. its like wolves"

wolves only do that in captivity.

in the wild, an "alpha" wolf is just the breeding male, and the beta his mate. the puppies eat first. the alpha even hides food so the pups can learn to find it themselves. he cares for the pack.

in captivity, the wolves get stressed. they are trapped and react by becoming aggressive, fighting over resources simply from stress of lack of freedom.

capitalism forces us to fight over resources. there is no lack of resources, our dictators just withhold it from us. this makes us stressed, and much like the captive wolves, we get aggressive.

we make enemies where there are none, because like the wolves, we are captive.

[jeanjaquesrousseou]

every time someone uses anarchic as a synonym of chaotic the ghost of Henry Kissinger gets a little stronger

[delinquentcoyote]

☆☆☆ Saving Seeds ☆☆☆

Sexual reproduction in plants (flowers -> pollen -> seeds -> plants) occurs in 2 steps, in-plant and germination. By hand pollinating imperfect plants, saving seeds and providing the best germination conditions, we can create the healthiest and strongest plants with the best qualities.

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Getting the best seeds: Imperfect v perfect plants

First, you must determine which genes you want to propagate. This is most easily done by making a tally list if you’re working with different varieties, or by closely monitoring the plants you have. Look for genetically advantageous traits such as:

○ High germination (most seeds you plant come up)

○ Thick, healthy stalks

○ Temperature resilience

○ Size, taste, and health of fruit

○ Large, healthy roots

Generally, the plants that do the best in the conditions you intend to save seeds for

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(Flowering) plants in general are divided into 2 main categories: perfect and imperfect.

Perfect plants have both the male and female parts in one flower. These plants can only be genetically affected at seed gathering, gather seeds from only the plants with the traits you want

Imperfect plants produce male flowers and female flowers. These can be genetically affected at the point of flower. For example, if you have 5 female zucchini plants and 2 males, you can choose to only pollinate the females with the healthier male flowers in order to put healthier genes in the seeds produced by the females.

● How to: hand pollinating

○ Determine which plants are male and which are female. This is most easily done by looking within flowers for long “sticks” with balls of pollen on the ends. These are called Stamen, and indicate a male flower. Female flowers will not have these presents.

○ Next, find the healthiest or few healthiest of the male plants and snip these flowers off. Remove the petals, and rub the stamen into the female flowers. Cut off and discard the less superior male plants flowers. Ensure proper fertilization by making sure the female plants fruit.

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Seed Saving

Seed saving is finicky business, this is a general guide for techniques, but research your specific plant family for more specific rules for seed saving.

Step one. Harvest ripe or overripe fruit/seed, considering genetics.

Set fruit/seed outside of direct sunlight for around a week, or until seed/fruit is dry or semi dry.

Separate husks/fruit from seed without using water

Let seeds fully dry, a drying rack may be useful but is not fully necessary. Do not place seeds in direct sun/uv as this may damage the seed or encourage unwanted germination.

Store seeds until ready for use. Store inside in a dark, room temperature space in an airtight container (jars work best!). If you notice moisture gathering in the container, repeat drying. Seeds will stay viable for differing times, but in general the first 6 months to year will produce the best germination and happiest plants. Do not let seeds get over 80 degrees or under 55.

-A

☆☆☆☆☆☆

[shroobles]

"...Political violence is not the irrational outcome of a rational system but the rational outcome of an irrational system."

[continentaldivide]

Many politicians pledge to be dedicated to the environment, and to put environmental issues first, but in reality many people often prioritize their own needs before those of the earth's. If we want a place to live in the future, action needs to be taken now!

[kazimirkharza]

Today we lost Ted Kaczynski. It's not surprising, we all knew that day was around the corner, considering his diagnosis, but hearing about it still shook me a bit. He was certainly not a flawless person, but his uncompromising devotion to defending the wild against the system of civilisation will forever earn him my respect. We need more people of such powerful character, determination and wit. Rest in power, Uncle Ted 💚

[dailyanarchistposts]

A Brief History of Solarpunk

There’s a full history of it linked below, but basically, around 2008 a blog named Republic of the Bees published the post, “From Steampunk to Solarpunk”, which conceptualized solarpunk as a literary genre inspired by steampunk. There were a few articles and works here and there, but it gained more steam, or should I say solar, with Miss Olivia Louise’s Tumblr post in 2014, establishing some of the aesthetics of solarpunk. Quote:

“A world in which children grow up being taught about building electronic tech as well as food gardening and other skills, and people have come back around to appreciating artisans and craftspeople, from stonemasons and smithies, to dress makers and jewelers, and everyone in between.”

Her post was later referenced by Adam Flynn, in his Notes Toward A Manifesto in late 2014. He describes the difficulty of being a futurist under 30, watching the world dive down the path of cyberpunk, with the ever present existential threat of climate change. Solarpunk, to him, is the only alternative to denial or despair. It rejects the individualistic, unsustainable approaches of some futurists, who refuse to acknowledge the limits of energy on our Earth. Solarpunk is about “ingenuity, generativity, independence, and community.” It’s suffixed by punk because it opposes our existing world. It creates local resilience, authorities be damned, from rooftop solar to guerilla gardening. Finally, a group called The Solarpunk Community published Un Manifiesto Solarpunk in 2019. It’s a short article, written in Spanish, that basically reiterates some of the previous ideas, albeit more succinctly.

As for my relationship with solarpunk, I’ve been into it for a pretty long time. I can’t remember exactly when I first heard about it, but it was probably on Tumblr. It was also on Tumblr where I was first introduced to the basics of revolutionary and progressive politics.

[fabric-and-thread-art]

Finished eco anarchy patch for my friend

[ecosaboteurmemes]

[canisvesperus]

I don’t have all the answers. I may have some of the answers. I may just have a few good suggestions or questions, but I know this:

I am not a “consumer” or a “citizen” or a “man.” I do not want to press 0 to speak to a customer service representative. I do not want to open a can, a box, a wrapper, or go through a drive through to eat. I do not want to find my “community” behind a screen. I do not want to stay off the grass. I do not want to fill out and return this form. I do not want my ethnicity to be used as a weapon. I do not want my water to come from a bottle or a faucet. I do not want my understanding of the world to come from what someone inside a box or wearing a lab coat tells me. I do not want to do what I’m told. I do not want to live in a way that kills everything around me. I do not want to wipe my ass with the rainforest. I do not want to live among that which is produced and consumed. I want to hug you. I want you and I to be able to love one another without fear, reservation, or pretense. I want to eat food directly from the earth and act directly from my heart. I want to live and laugh and cry and love in a community the way our ancestors did for millions of years. I want you to be there with me. I want us to stop destroying everything. I need you. You need me. We don’t need any of the rest of this shit that we manufacture, and produce, and throw away. Beneath the concrete, and alcohol, and uppers, and downers, and anti-depressants, beneath the fashion trends, and social networks, and cell phones, and TV shows, and gender roles, and street lights, and gas stations, deep within this cage we call civilization you are still wild. I am still wild. Inside of me beats the feral heart of the animal that I am. I am flesh and bone, blood and spirit, earth and light. I long to be a part of the earth on which I live, to drink from clean rivers, and breathe clean air. I don’t want to be a cog in a machine. I want to dismantle the machine. I am a human being and I want to live as one. As such, civilization is my enemy and this is my battle cry. If it is yours as well, then let us go about creating the world we want to live in.

Until the Earth is Wild Again,

Bobby Whittenberg-James

My Battle Cry

[jeanjaquesrousseou]

The body is wasting too many resources in trying to get oxygen to those cells who were born further from the veins. I propose cutting on spending for the circulatory system, so that those in need work for a better place in the body and to get rid of all those lazy cells who take from working cells who got to where they are by moving contrary to what the left might say.

[gayhenrycreel]

okay i filled out a google doc survey of aro experiences in the queer community and at the end i kinda went on a commie rant, so this is it copy pasted. (yes my mutuals, im aware as i reread this that this sounds like the blorbos 4.07 monologue)

i want people to know that no one should ever be in a relationship just because they want to be considered normal. alloros included. the relationship hierarchy hurts everyone.

hierarchy has always been the problem. its time that people start realising that we are all equals, and the idea of any particular thing being inherently better than another is the basis for amatonormativity, homophobia, racism, transphobia, misogyny, eugenics, and ultimately fascism. "superiority" does not exist.

even the natural world is negatively affected by human ideas of hierarchy. conservation efforts are for animals, occasionally plants, and never for fungi. fungi are barely even researched properly compared to other clades. how many fungi have gone extinct without anyone knowing, because no one cares?

this affects humans directly. penicillin comes from a fungus. hallucinigenic mushrooms can treat anxiety, depression, adhd, and even ptsd. lions mane contains biochemicals that prevent cell death, which means (and research is ongoing) it could slow aging, lead to longer lives, and quite significantly, prevent dementia.

those are just known fungi. imagine how many are out there that could save lives that are endangered and dying, but no one cares to save them because they are small and not very noticeable. theres an antioxidant thats exclusively found in fungi. that means it too could prevent cell damage, such as those that cause cancer.

if i were to get into human prejudice this would go on forever. hierarchy kills. it destroys entire species, cultures, lives. the solution to defeating amatonormativity is to remove hierarchy.

this would also solve infinite other problems. we could no longer have to work our asses off for the profit of billionares. we would use resources when we need them, not for some hypothetical world where they might be bought on mass. no one needs a billion iphones. the slaves who make them certainly dont.

things should be produced when they are actually in demand, not just so elon can get money he will never use. that money could go to education, science, sustainable energy, medicine, conservation, and literally billions of people who are starving because elon and bezos want to think about their sci fi fantasys that they do not allow to become reality by not bloody paying their slaves, as well as hoarding money that could be used by places that could legitimately get people to mars like nasa.

elon works closely with nasa, but nasa cant afford to pay their own scientists. many of nasas workers hate spacex. one even quit over it. there are so many people who could help humanity, who could invent cures for AIDS, vaccines for deadly diseases, better solar panels, solutions for space junk, more efficient farming, more nutritious native plants that people have harvested for centuries before colonizers decided nutrient poor cabbage is better than the vitamin rich indigenous vegetables.

like seriously, there are so many plants that indigenous societies have been eating for thousands of years that the world just doesn't know about anymore.

the wider queer community could do a lot for arospecs by taking off the hierarchy glasses. we all need to take off the hierarchy glasses. its killing the world.

[quoquomodo]

earth first! wild rockies review vol 6 (1993)