Phoebe Wagner

And I think as we're seeing more climate impacts in the U.S., as we're seeing issues around the world, that sense of even though there is a disaster or apocalypse or problem happening, we're building something better is so needed and important right now.

Yeah, absolutely.

Right.

It's especially I think your point about escaping to this far off planet, like solar punk takes place on Earth for that very reason.

Right.

We need to be thinking about how do we care for the people and places and members of our community, both human and non-human, that we're living with now and into the future.

How do we create something for seven generations from now rather than this idea of escape?

Yeah, I think that's one of the exciting things is that we're seeing it sort of start to come off the page.

I mean, I think almost any time you're seeing examples of mutual aid, you could claim that as solar punk, right?

People coming together to support their communities, right?

Mutual aid has always been a part of solar punk.

And so we're seeing that obviously here in the U.S.

in the forms of protests, people coming together in Minneapolis, spaces like that.

But also there's other real world examples.

One of my favorite newsletters comes from Hydroponic Trash is the name of the account.

And part of what this person is doing is teaching themselves different technological skills, building hydroponic gardens, salvaging tech here in the U.S., and also building things for the community.

So they built like a little trash pickup thing they put in a park that community members were using to pick up trash in the park.

And I think that's a great example of sort of someone who's been inspired by solar punk then taking it out into the real world.

Any of the early anthologies, whether it's the Brazilian solarpunk anthology, Sunvald, or there's also the great duology Glass and Gardens out of Worldweaver Press.

Those are great places.