SolarPunk Girl Phoebe Tickell has some creative and provocative things to say:
Phoebe Tickell (@PhoebeTickell) / Twitter
Especially about where we could be going and how we could get there:
IMAGINATION ACTIVISM: EXPLORING RADICALLY BETTER FUTURES (AND SOLARPUNK) – Sidmouth Solarpunk
As interviewed by the BBC recently:
As as interviewed by the Bored Panda blog [which is currently being showcased on this blog] …
The Truth Well Told
Bored Panda got in touch with solarpunk activist Phoebe Tickell to ask what solarpunk means to her. She told us, “Solarpunk represents a new narrative and disruptive meme that can help me imagine a better future. It’s an aesthetic, it’s a sci-fi sub-genre, it’s a movement, it’s a vision of the future. It’s called solarpunk because ‘solar’ refers to renewable energy and living in harmony with the sun, and ‘punk’ is about rebellion, innovation, open-source and collective action. Imagine a future where all human beings are treated with the same level of respect and dignity, we are living 100% off renewables, building tech ourselves, co-existing with animal companions and growing our own food at the same time.”
She told us the reasons she loves solarpunk are because “it takes three narratives and weaves them together”. The first being “that we need to protect nature and return to the land”. The second being “that technology can be a force for common good”. And the third being the importance of “human flourishing, social justice and equity”. “These narratives usually exist in siloes and different tribes,” Phoebe told us. “But solarpunk brings them together and asks us to imagine a world that optimises for all three.”
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We asked Phoebe how she has seen the movement grow over the years, and she told us, “When I first discovered solarpunk in 2015, nobody was talking about it. My blog was called ‘Humans, Nature, Tech’ at the time, because I was interested in what happens if you bring the three together and explore creating a new world from that lens. I was really keen to spread the word so I changed my Twitter handle to solarpunk_girl and did the same with my Instagram. I started speaking more widely on the topic in 2019 and since then I’ve seen a sharp increase in interest. More and more people are asking me about what solarpunk is, and I am seeing people writing their own articles and creating memes, artwork and even communities around the topic. In 2020, I started a design and research studio called Moral Imaginations which helps people imagine a solarpunk future. Last year this peaked when I was contacted by the BBC for an interview on solarpunk and imagination.”
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Lastly, we asked Phoebe where she recommends people who are curious about solarpunk start their journey, and she provided great resources. “Search for ‘solarpunk’ on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and follow the influencers they find on the topic. They could also follow RenaissanceU where we are creating solarpunk education programs. They could also get started on solarpunk sci-fi: The Dispossessed and Always Coming Home by Ursula Le Guin, Walkaway by Cory Doctrow, Dune by Frank Herbert, Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, Island by Aldous Huxley for some old school solarpunk, and Black Panther by Ta-Nahisi Coates for something more recent. Allow your imagination to explore these future, disruptive and radical scenarios and then find your communities online and start contributing in your own way to the movement – whether that is via fiction writing, artwork, memes or other ways of contributing to the plurality of these imagined futures!”
The “Solarpunk” Online Group Shares 30 Environmental Memes That People Can Relate To | Bored Panda