Solarpunk Collective

“Kind of conspicuous for a private detective, aren’t you?” The man delivered his statement and then stood by my table, as if he expected me to reply. It was a Monday and I was slumped in a chair in the Portway Heights Humanist Club. I was hard at work, nursing some bruises, sipping gin and watching the sun rise. Or I had been. Now I took time to look out through the open glass walls, I noticed that the sun was well up, floating over the azure sea like a fat drop of molten gold. The man was still standing there, watching me expectantly. “I mean, it’s a tad theatrical, wouldn’t you say?” I checked my reflection in the mirrored drinks cabinet against the wall. Black coat, white shoes, black hat, Cadillac. Yeah, the girl’s a time bomb. Actually, I didn’t have a Cadillac, but I did have a necktie with piano keys on it, and I figured that was almost as good in the present circumstances. The man was still standing there. My plan to let him get bored and wander off wasn’t...

I recently submitted some ideas to the consultation being undertaken by the Labour Party for a kind of "Green New Deal" for Britain. Unfortunately, my submission was lost due to a server error and I had to resubmit. It did allow me to revisit some of my ideas, and record them here. Opportunities in the low carbon economy Please describe any industries, sectors, or projects that you think are well suited to your region, city or town, that would help to reduce the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse Gas emissions are not limited to any one sector but are spread across all aspects of our society. From land use to transport, from construction to energy production. Each sector contributes a share. Reducing any one sector to 0% net emissions would only return our emissions to start of the 21st century levels. There are many ways that each sector can be addressed, and experts should be consulted on any possibility. Just one example that springs to mind is the proje...

Reginald watched the ants scurry up and down the line of seedlings, tending the little plants with their appendages. Every so often, one would pause and shake its little blocky head, looking this way and that, waggling its antenna as it received an update or new instructions. “I don’t know about you Reg, but I think I’m going to call it a day.” Suzy peered over her gogz at Reg, obviously waiting for a reply. Reg kept watching until one of the ants stopped for a longer period. He walked over to the bot and flicked open its access cover. Just as he suspected, it was shutting down for its evening update cycle. Reg waved his hands about, throwing shapes for the gogz to interpret as data. He signed off with a flurry of fingers and turned to Suzy. She had already headed for the locker room. They met again outside the farm cube near the lifts. Both of them were fresh from the shower and ready for an evening of relaxation or excitement or whatever was on offer that night in the...

What is solarpunk? That's a question that gets asked a lot. At least one source claims that solarpunk grew out of single post on tumblr in 2014. Solarpunk is a genre of Speculative Fiction that focuses on craftsmanship, community, and technology powered by renewable energy, wrapped up in a coating of Art Nouveau blended with African and Asian aesthetics. Some of the themes which were brainstormed in that original post were: Natural colors! Art Nouveau! Handcrafted wares! Tailors and dressmakers! Streetcars! Airships! Stained glass window solar panels!!! Education in tech and food growing! Less corporate capitalism, and more small businesses! Solar rooftops and roadways! Communal greenhouses on top of apartments! Electric cars with old-fashioned looks! No-cars-allowed walkways lined with independent shops! Renewable energy-powered Art Nouveau-styled tech life!  You can certainly find a lot of images on line which follow those ideas. Drawing by Owen C. ...