The science programme manager of the One Earth website, Spencer Scott, looked to the idea of “solarpunk” at the end of last year:

In a recent article, we delved into the concept of an ecological civilization, which envisions a new era of humanity, one that prioritizes human and ecological flourishing alike.Perhaps it shouldn’t have surprised us, but what most captivated readers were the images. These images offered enchanting, evocative glimpses of what life could feel like, free from pollution and the looming specter of ecological catastrophe. This type of imagery can quench a thirst in us we didn’t know we harbored. Creating that feeling is the operating strategy behind Solarpunk: “a movement in speculative fiction, art, fashion, and activism that seeks to answer and embody the question “What does a sustainable civilization look like, and how can we get there?”

I was introduced to solarpunk in 2020 and was quickly infected by its appeal. So much so my husband and I decided to name our farm Solar Punk Farms. Our “farm” is more a regenerative education and demonstration site, and thus solarpunk perfectly encapsulates what we’re trying to accomplish: make the sustainable revolution seem irresistible. 

Solarpunk: Refuturing our Imagination for an Ecological Transformation | One Earth

Here is Spencer introducing that original piece – and do read on!

Before industrialization, humanity existed in an agricultural civilization where productivity was low, and people were organized around meeting basic needs. The industrial civilization ushered in a new high-productivity era that inevitably affected peoples’ values, lifestyles, beliefs, and the institutions that governed them. An ecological civilization will similarly necessitate a major paradigm shift. As Jeremy Lent asserts in What Does An Ecological Civilization Look Like, we need “a transformation in the way we make sense of the world, and a concomitant revolution in our values, goals, and collective behavior.”

From Latin, ecology means “knowledge of home,” and ecological means the “applied knowledge of home.” While the old industrial system is characterized by an indifference to how life on this planet works, an ecological civilization operates with ecological principles at its core—with behaviors, values, goals, and institutions organized around the applied knowledge of life on Earth.

In her book Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature, Janine Benyus outlines some of Life’s Principles here on Earth: 

“Life runs on sunlight. Life rewards cooperation. Life builds from the bottom up. Life banks on diversity. Life recycles everything. Life builds resilience through diversity, decentralization, and redundancy. Life optimizes rather than maximizes. Life selects for the good of the whole system. In short, life creates the conditions conducive to life.”

Inspired by Benyus’ Life’s Principles and the work of sustainable development scholar, Jiahua Pan, One Earth has created six ingredients for an ecological civilization…

An Ecological Civilization is the renaissance we’ve been waiting for | One Earth

Finally, here’s one of the many illustrations from these pieces.

The future look for Lyme Bay?!

An example of solarpunk art, Vegetal Cities by Luc Schuiten (2009)

With more from this extraordinary visionary and artist here:

Luc Schuiten: SolarPunk architect – Sidmouth Solarpunk

Luc Schuiten, godfather of solarpunk – Sidmouth Solarpunk

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