Community is important to us, not just as individuals or a group of editors, not just as a magazine. Community is important to solarpunk in general and the utopian future we are building. While there are certainly times when we all fantasize about being alone on a deserted island, the fact is the heart of utopia lies in the kinds communities we build.
With that in mind, we’re starting a new series on our blog called Sharing Our Community. Articles in this series will highlight other organizations out there doing great work and pursuing the solarpunk vision. For our first article in this series, we’re really happy to highlight our friends over at Solarpunk Life.
Solarpunk Life was founded by Jason Bowser and Joe Hines in the summer of 2020 and is a vlog about, you guessed it, solarpunk. When I first came across these folks online I was immediately drawn in by their catch phrase, or motto if you will: “Do Good, Be Good.” Yes, exactly! Building a better world is nothing if it isn’t about doing good, and being good. The reason we are mired in our current dystopian reality is because too many institutions and people care more about power and profit than doing and being good.
The vlog has published at least sixty videos far, about one per week since the started last year. All things solarpunk is the best way to describe the general content, but the pair have also focused mostly on how solarpunk ideas and values affect the way we live in the world of today. This includes:
- Looking for ways to live a less wasteful life
- Practical hands on skills and knowledge
- Enjoying nature while protecting it
- Building good communities
- Logical Fallacies, important to know about when considering big world changing ideas
- The Philosophy of being a Solarpunk today
- Interviews with folks who are of a solarpunk nature
- and some good natured humor as well
Jason and Joe always bring an optimistic and positive attitude to the show, sharing what they’ve learned with others in the hopes that they’ll be and share in turn.
You can watch Solarpunk Life, inlcuding their entire back catalogue of videos on their website. Of course, you can and should also head over to their YouTube page and subscribe. You can also watch their most recent episode right here at the end of this article.
Solarpunk Life can also be found and followed @solarpunklife on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Check them out, follow them, let’s all join in and build a solarpunk future together!
Solarpunk Life: Plastic Pollution in Unseen Places, Cleaning up the Neighborhood