Solarpunk Collective

Solar power is often discussed as one of the most promising forms of renewable energy, but it has a problem. It only generates energy during the day. This isn't too much of a problem, because a lot of our energy needs also happen during the day. However, there is a peak of energy consumption in the evening, when everyone gets home from work and sits down to watch Netflix and eat their microwave dinner for one. You can see the effect above, in the famous duck curve. So called because it looks like a duck. As well as a lack of energy in the evening, you can see that increased solar capacity leads to an excess of capacity during the day. My immediate thought is that we need to reschedule our day. Let's make sure we do all the high energy activities in the middle of the day, and accept that evenings are going to be an expensive time to plug in and play. But what if we could mitigate that problem a little? If we could extend the peak of solar by just a few hours, it ...

"Our aim should not be to secure a somewhat thicker slice of bread today, even if this would make us happy; we must not forget what our real aim is. Our main duty is to consider the needs of others. If we become alive to this duty, there will be no unjustly treated people in our midst, and we, in turn, shall not be treated unjustly. Our day-to-day motto should be: "Your problems are also my problems." We must extend our friendship and strengthen our solidarity." Anna Walentynowicz A few months ago, I started working on an idea for a Solarpunk Role Playing Game. At the time, I felt it was possible to leave the setting completely open, so that GMs could design their own worlds. It can be hard work though to create a compelling universe for people to visit, and having some backstory, shared elements and persistent elements which wouldn't change from game to game would be something that would appeal to hosts and players alike. Since then, I've ...

Do you know the futures cone ? It's used to give an understanding of what we mean when we talk about the future. Anything "could" happen. Even the preposterous and impossible ;  Aliens landing.  The second coming.  President Biden.  A successful Brexit.  The AI singularity.  WW3.  A new ice age...  Preposterous. The one we usually worry about is the "projected" future. The default outcome if we pursue business as usual. That one has pretty unpleasant results even within the next few decades.  BAU If anything, some of our earlier projections were too optimistic and too cautious. Scientists wanted to be absolutely sure of their findings, so they erred on the side of caution.  Now we face a projected future that's even worse than we previously imagined.  Unlikely? Paradoxically, this future is probably the most unlikely. The very nature of that future will force us to move away from busine...