Tag Archives: technology

Unformation

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Like many people, I worry about how much time I spend consuming information: social media, news, TV, video games, etc. I don’t think any of these are bad in their own right, but the trouble is flooding my puny human brain with far more data than it evolved to take in.

So much of our economy is based on consuming things, and that makes it hard to create or to just be. As someone who was called a “walking encyclopedia” as a kid, I naturally want to intake as much information as I possibly can. It’s hard to slow down and absorb everything when I have a fire hose of knowledge a mouse click away.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

I’ve been reading The Nature Fix and think that getting back outside might be where I can find the unformation I need to process the world around me. It’s hard to disconnect from the info tap, but I am going to try to get away a little more so I can give my brain some time to breathe.

What do you do to disconnect and reorient your mind?

Solarpunk and energy fragility

Leave a reply

Solar Farm by Michael Mees via a CC BY 2.0

A couple weeks ago we were treated to a 9 hour power outage here at home. It wasn’t a terrible experience, but it did remind me of how fragile our infrastructure really is. In the US, the American Society of Civil Engineers puts together a “report card” for infrastructure every four years. In 2017, US energy infrastructure scored a D+.

Large sections of the grid are reaching the end of their design life, and we don’t have enough funding dedicated to upgrading and replacing parts. Decentralized power generation such as solar and wind will help immensely as the power can be generated closer to where it’s used. This means when one part of the grid goes down, there still should be electricity in the others. Some communities have started investing in their own local grids, and you can convert some of your usage to solar even if you rent an apartment.

Since one of the main parts of solarpunk for me is decentralization, both political and technological, I think that having a more decentralized grid will lead to more resilient communities and services. Does your community have any programs right now to help people become less reliant on the grid? Let us know below!

LEGO Human-powered tool station

Leave a reply

Technic Man pedaling his tool platform

I had some time to make a crude LEGO prototype of the human-powered tool station. I made do with meshed gears instead of pulleys since I didn’t have any rubber bands to use as a belt. Given some of the constraints of spacing with LEGO, our brave Technic Man can’t actually pedal the machine, but I think it does get the idea across more or less.

LEGO Modular Tool Station Internal Workings

Some of the internal workings of the LEGO prototype

Do you have any thoughts about the system? Are there LEGO parts that you like to use for prototyping purposes? Let us know below!

GoSun Fusion oven on Kickstarter

Leave a reply

Want to cook with the sun?

4fabbbe344a1fb6238d2f1df2348cdb2_original

GoSun has been making solar ovens for awhile and is now Kickstarting the GoSun Fusion which can use either solar power or electricity to cook a meal for up to five people. I don’t have any affiliation with GoSun, but their ovens have pretty good reviews, and I really like the idea of being able to cook with the sun both day and night.

I think this oven looks like it would be really awesome if you have an off-grid house or do a lot of campground camping where you have a base camp. It’s probably too big to use for backpacking, although it does look like GoSun has a smaller model that might work for that, the GoSun Go.

Do you have a solar cooker? Do you know of any good DIY plans that we should try out here at Solarpunk Station? Let us know below!

Solarpunk: A decentralized society

4 Replies

2244151215_99bb26a67c_b

“Ginko tree” by tree-species via a Creative Commons CC BY 2.0 license

Decentralization

One of the most important things for solarpunk society is decentralization. Most major complaints about society can be traced to over-centralization of power. In the United States, I’m feeling especially conscious of how our country was founded on the belief that power should be distributed among the people, not concentrated into the hands of the elite.

To continue this dream of protecting people’s rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, the best protection against overly-powerful central governments and corporations is decentralization. Recent developments in decentralization include blockchain, mesh networks, platform cooperatives, decentralized social media, and the growth of grassroots democracy.

Blockchain

Blockchain has opened up the door for decentralization of many different services. The most obvious example is cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, but other projects include data storage (FileCoin, Storj), computer processing time (Golem), genetic data management (Nebula), and global UBI. If you’re interested in learning more about blockchain, check out this Blockchain 101 episode of Unchained with Laura Shin.

Mesh Networks

NetworkTopology-Mesh by Foobaz

Mesh networks work by connecting people to each other in a non-hierarchical way. Mesh networks are more robust since they are not dependent on a single central device such as a cell tower to connect all of the devices in the network. This allows for increased redundancy during natural disasters as well as communications in areas that don’t have any infrastructure like National Parks or developing countries. Current implementations include the mesh network going up in Detroit, Serval and GoTenna for cell phones, and the Althea Mesh for building decentralized ISPs.

Platform cooperatives

Platform cooperatives are what the sharing economy was supposed to be before Uber and AirBNB ate everything. Governed by the actual service providers (hosts, drivers, etc.) the rules and profits are determined more equitably. The P2P Foundation and the New School’s Platform Cooperativism are good starting points for more information. If you prefer audio, Team Human has episodes with both Stacco Troncoso of the P2P foundation and Juho Makkonen of Sharetribe. Robin Chase’s Peers INC is a great book on the power of platform cooperatives.

If you are ready to start you own platform cooperative, Sharetribe makes an open source platform designed to help get things up and running. Forbes and Yes! Magazine have both covered platform cooperatives and Shareable covers them along with the more traditional “sharing economy” companies. Some platform cooperatives in the wild include Open Bazaar (shopping/commerce), LibreTaxi (transportation), Stocksy (stock photos), and your local credit unions. More services can be found at the Platform Cooperativism Directory.

Decentralized Social media

If you’re concerned about how Twitter, Facebook, and other social media companies handle your data, Scuttlebutt and Mastodon are two options that are not controlled by any one entity. Their user bases are much smaller at the moment, but it costs nothing to join the party. In The Mesh, a decentralization news site, has more here.

Grassroots democracy

Grassroots democracy is a group of political ideologies based on the idea that decision making should be left as local as possible since the people impacted by policies should be the ones who vote on their implementation. Subsidiarity, which is practiced by the European Union, is one example wherein the EU may only pass laws when an issue comes up that can’t be adequately addressed by separate legislation in its member countries. ROAR Magazine, a great resource for grassroots democracy news, has an excellent piece about how municipalism empowers women and others typically left out of the political process.

What do you think? Is centralization the enemy of democracy and free agency? Leave your thoughts below!

Law in space…

Leave a reply

twit_logo_wallpaper

Solarpunks who love space will be want to listen to “21st Century Prime Directive,” from the This Week in Law (TWIL) podcast. The panel discusses the various laws and treaties that have governed over 50 years of peaceful space exploration.

Specific topics for this episode included space property rights, the creation of a US Space Force, and 3D-printed Moon bases. I was particularly excited by their in-depth analysis of space mining since it could reduce environmental degradation on Earth.

If you like technology and law, then I would recommend listening to TWIL on a regular basis. They have a lot of fun discussing the implications of various technologies on the law and vice-versa. The next episode, “A Sheepish Clone” is all about bioethics, biohacking, and genetics if space isn’t your thing.

Do you have concerns about the legality of the US Space Force? Think we need to ban mining on Earth in favor of asteroids? Sound off below!

Team Human discusses AI and consciousness (podcast suggestion)

1 Reply

TeamHuman_RedLogoName

Are you a solarpunk wondering, “Am I using technology, or is it using me?” If so, Team Human is the podcast for you. Every week, Douglas Rushkoff meets with guests to discuss what it means to be human in the digital age.

If you’re concerned about AI, consciousness, and how artists can relate to technology, the discussion with Kenric McDowell from Google’s Artists and Machine Intelligence group will be right up your alley. If that’s not your thing, check out their archive of other shows.

I really love the way Team Human remains positive about technology while still being critical. Technology can be a great tool, but we need to make sure we’re using it as a tool, and not becoming tools for the technology. One of the things that is a repeating theme is that the internet held so much promise but then was invaded by corporate interests who turned it into an advertising platform. While some people say you should unplug if you are worried about privacy and manipulation through the internet, that isn’t really a reasonable option for most people. Team Human is here to help us navigate the murky waters of humans and machines working together.

Do you listen to Team Human? If so, what episodes would you recommend? For more podcasts I think solarpunks would find interesting, check out the Resources page!