While I’m not a very community focused person, finally grokking that everyone I see around where I live are real people that I’m in community with, has changed not just how I think of them but how I treat them.

Especially people I might not agree with, or my addict or unhoused neighbours. It’s pretty cool how just being genuine and open with people will change in turn their entire demeanor towards you.

I don’t know if I’d really call these solar punk, but here’s a few things I’ve done.

My yard is clover, not grass. I barely mow it. I know it so little the city “politely” informs me when it’s time. (Pro tip: Don’t use red clover. Use white clover.) I also leave my leaves in place, the most I do is mow them to chop 'em up. The bees love the flowers. The lightning bugs seem to love it as well, I’ve noticed more. I attribute this to the leaves.

I replaced my water heater last year because it broke. It was electric. My new one is a heat pump. It’s cheaper to run. Plus, as a free side effect, it cools off and dehumidifies the basement. I’m not sure how much cooling and dehumidifying it really accomplishes, but I generally have a dehumidifier running down there anyways to help combat humidity.

I compost, dumpster dive, and collect manure to the point of weirdness at work. I’m trying to garden. I’ve got a bunch of chickens and a few goats. I take people in when they’re in bad situations. I’m trying to get solar and an EV. Sold my diesel pickup. (I really did need it for my last job. But not anymore.) Now I’m carless except for a work truck I’m not allowed to use for personal business. I do have an ebike. My career is in renewable energy. I’m stockpiling material I’ve collected to try and build an earthship in the next year or so.

So far I’ve mostly changed how I do stuff, rather than what i do. Electric car instead of ICE, Bike and train for commuting, Solarpanels and 20kWh batteries for most of my summer time energy needs.

At work I have more possibility to make a difference, though. So far I’ve had batteries introduced (solar was already norm) as an accessory to “our” buildings, I’ve gotten 2 thermal batteries (sand) built and are currently investigating building mounted small scale wind power. Among other things.

• Thrifting, sewing, and mending my clothes instead of buying new
• Using the AC as little as possible and participating in peakbusting as much as I can
• Reading a lot to learn important concepts - currently reading Emergent Strategy by adrienne maree brown
• Teaching myself the basics of coding so I can make my own personal website
• Hosting a monthly community night at my house where folks can connect in a comfortable environment
• I’ve recently gotten into kandi and so far I haven’t bought a single pony bead new!!
• Setting up a balcony garden
• Making eraser stamps so I can customize my clothes and make patches

I’m most proud of the balcony garden, if we’re being honest. I’ve never gardened a single time before but my tomato plants are apparently growing me some tomatoes and that’s insane. Truthfully, most of what I’ve grown (tomatoes) isn’t offsetting what I’d buy, but learning about the natural world has been really special given that my disabilities mean I can’t really go foraging or hiking or anything like that. It’s also given me the opportunity to say hi to my neighbors when they’re outside!

@Capitanmaroon we replaced our front lawn with raised garden beds a few years ago. Do we grow a lot? No. Are we especially good at gardening? Gosh no. But tonight I went outside, picked a cucumber and a handful of tomatoes, and really enjoyed my dinner. Planning on setting up a little table soon so we can give away any tomatoes beyond what we can use.

Boycotting big business/unethical anti competitive practices. Businesses that lobby or have lobbied (aka legal bribery) for Republican officials or AIPAC democrats.

1. Moving my technological dependencies from big tech companies to self-hosted, open source solutions, running Linux on my machines etc.

2. Gardening on my balcony. I am growing tomatoes, broad beans, peppers (chilis, bell) and an assortment of salads and herbs. I am mostly self-sufficient on herbs, during growing season I am fully self-sufficient on salads. Pretty far from it on tomatoes and peppers, and especially on beans as they are not fruiting :(

3. In general getting more in touch with local flora. I’ve been photographing flowering plants in my neighborhood lately and identifying them, trying to learn what grows around here. Goal is to be quite well-versed in local flora, including what is edible (and how to use it) and not

4. Contributing to OpenStreetMap, both in my neighborhood and also through tasks.hotosm.org where I help trace missing buildings in disaster-struck places for first-responders to use (and in preparation for possible disasters in the future). This kind of collaborative project I find to be very solarpunky.

Living in a rented apartment, there is only so much I can make changes here. There was an initiative to install solar panels, but it was voted down for some reason - not being an owner, I am not involved in those discussions. Dream is to find a small house outside the city to expand my garden and to become as off-grid as possible.

I’m thinking of buying the slate truck and kitting it out with solar panels and insulation. Rent rises faster than my income, and at some point it’s gonna catch up. If I can park on the edges of town then just scooter between locations, life might actually become financially sustainable.

Buying secondhand over new. I love thrifting so that’s a bonus for me! Also using what I have, repairing what I can, or just going without something versus buying something in the first place.

Eating less meat, and prioritizing locally grown veg when possible.

Taking public transit, walking, or biking everywhere. If going long distance, I try to take ground transportation (trains, buses) over flying.

Reducing energy use eg turning off lights when I’m not in the room. You’d be surprised how many people still don’t do that, haha!

For me I admit not as much as I’d like.

I was unable to get solar panels for my house, due to the city’s rulings. My house being a dome lacks a traditional roof for solar panels, and the city has a lot of strict rulings against solar panels not on roofs, mostly because the city council hates solar energy. Of course, I have small solar panels with power stations in the yard.

The house also is specifically one that is efficient for such purposes, and we practice dressing it up during the year. Currently we have blackout curtains over the windows that get hotter during the day-time barring the south-facing in my office, where I simply close that door. We also have curtains over hallways. While we have to use a rolling air conditioner due to the house’s setup, we focus on only cooling the room that we are in or sleep in during the day-time, and during the night even if it is still 70s to 80s outside, we do what we can do to cool the rest of the house.

I have my own garden I grow vegetables and herbs in, as well as having an indoor garden in a south-facing window with a trellis shelf I built. I am able to grow plants year round. I pickle, dehydrate, and similar methods for everything I grow for the purposes of usage throughout the year, including using the brine from pickling for recipes. Also we make stuff during the night-time and put it to cool, making it able to be eaten several meals instead of every meal-time turning on a stove and cooking.

My spouse and I both have knowledge on repair, both around the house but also clothing, adding our own bits of charm when needed. I also have experience with repairing my bicycle as well as repairing my car, having been a mechanic in the past.

I’ve put solar panels everywhere.

On my house, on my tent, even on my hat.

Nothing beats getting free energy from the sun. Found some cheap solar power banks that I repurpose for all kinds of things.

1. I’ve been vegan for 5 years and it’s one of the best decisions I’ve made.
2. I only buying second-hand clothing. This is a recent change.
3. I mostly stopped shopping online, except for specific items like my injection supplies.
4. Using my local library!
5. I crochet clothing and items for gifts.

Lately, I’ve been teaching people how to repair their clothing! At least one guy has come to the conclusion that hand sewing is actually punk af, because knowing how to fix your shit is Sticking It To The Man.

I’ve been lucky enough to be able to get a rooftop solar set up and battery for my house. I absolutely love it. We’ve barely used the grid since it’s gone up, only our electric shower draws too much for the inverter/ battery to provide it all, everything else runs off solar. It’s been especially good in the UK recently with the weather because it means I can run my (also recently purchased) portable aircon without feeling guilty. Makes me feel happy every time the sun is shining.

I keep thinking about getting a ground rod installed so I can run totally off grid.

We’re trying to eat less meat and having at least a couple meals per week with veggies or fish as the main. We’ve reduced how much landfill waste we produce and are recycling more.