I wished october was cold mine. it is actually sometimes but it is so unstable
I think there’s a lot of focus on minimizing individual’s impact, and don’t get me wrong, that’s a great thing to do, but it puts burden and guilt on people for things that are out of their control
If your government (wherever you are) held fossil fuel companies and the agro-industrial complex to account and encouraged investment in renewables, public transport and ground sourced heating, you would be living a low impact lifestyle just by going to work, buying your groceries and living normally.
If you have the money to invest in solar panels, EVs etc, that’s fantastic, but don’t feel guilt for not being priviledged!
The most impactful thing you can do is put pressure on your government to recognise the impact we’re having on our ecology. Sign petitions, write to your representative, fund and/or join activist groups.
Importantly, try not to feel shamed, as an individual you didn’t cause the situation (unless maybe you are a fossil fuel lobbyist, or oilcompany CEO) - go easy on yourself and just do what you can.
I started by adjusting my expectations for myself
It’s impossible for me to become carbon neutral at this point in time - I might be able to survive in the woods, but without buying the land I’d eventually get arrested, and my homestead torn down.
So it’s a matter of harm reduction, or balancing the scales in the right direction. So I made a goal - I want to build a solarpunk community out in the mountains somewhere. I also want to spread good ideas, while reducing bad ones
I will never achieve either if I’m not in a good physical and mental state. So I forgive myself for indulging when I need to
Do what you can when you can. If you die and cut your footprint to zero, you won’t save the world… So at least attempt something that could help
But most of all, my guiding mantra is “if everyone in the world was like me, it would be a utopia”. Be the kind of person who could be part of the world you dream of
I also want to build a solar punk community out in the woods!* (More concerned about building an ecological egalitarian community rather than it’s specific location but you get it) I’m in logistics and planning atm and my over all hope is to not just build a community, but to develop a blueprint for others to be able to more easily build their own with less initial cost/labor. Things like how to set up a community land trust, how to build net zero housing and which efficient appliances would work best off grid, how to find good properties that have enough natural resources to provide enough water for people and crops and animals (if you want animals) how practical tying into public utility grids would be at different locations/ distance, how to use gray water systems and composting toilets to reduce waste and reuse resources, composting and vermiculture, food storage and preservation, gardening techniques, what grants and credits and rebates are available for such project’s, how to build geothermal greenhouses, resources for open source tools and machines, community tool libraries, frameworks for egalitarian community decision making, ways to structure different roles and tasks so people are responsible to each other without punishment being the go to assumption for failure. Ya know, stuff.
Do you mean “how do I stay positive?” Honestly, the best thing you can probably do is to stop reading the news (or curate only positive sources). You likely already know what’s at stake, but you likely won’t see any impact from your actions directly.
By which I mean that this is a collective action over time. Keep reducing your reliance on fossil fuels and petroleum products, encourage your friends to think about their own choices, but don’t feel like you need to take on the entire burden of humanity yourself.
Remember, you’re not the only one who cares.
On top of what you say, I would also suggest the following:
What is Solarpunk | Solarpunk is a Revolt of Hope Against Despair | …
Getting outside helps me to feel better about things. Sometimes I’m resistant to it - maybe because i want to wallow in negativity a bit?
