It's my pleasure to announce https://storyseedlibrary.org/ - a #library of #solarpunk #art and story seeds to help you imagine a better #climate future!
Huge thanks to all the artists who shared their art under various #creativeCommons licenses, including @the_lemonaut , @NiwlCraft and @jacobcoffin ! No AI will replace handcrafted art!
If you liked our @SolarpunkPrompts #podcast , the Story Seeds are expanding its concept - soon with more, unpublished ones!
Wenn Menschen mitbekommen, dass ich seit Jahren #vegetarisch lebe, schalten manche in den Verteidigungs- & andere in den Angriffsmodus.
Deswegen hier mal eine ruhige Erläuterung, warum ich mich als Wissenschaftler, Christ und #Solarpunk entschieden habe, kein #Fleisch aus industrieller #Massentierhaltung mehr zu essen. Und warum ich mich dabei nicht für einen "besseren Menschen" halte, niemandem etwas verbieten möchte. #Wissenschaft #Tierhaltung #Klimakrise #Wasserkrise https://scilogs.spektrum.de/natur-des-glaubens/alle-koennen-etwas-tun-solarpunk-und-fleischverzicht/
A rant on why I think we need realistic Solarpunk, plus some other things 1/2 ☀️
Felt compelled to make this. It will finally stop floating around in my head 🎉
Podcast over here if you're interested: https://podcast.tomasino.org/@SolarpunkPrompts
I have what I think is a good example of how useless ‘AI’ is for understanding. I am tagging widely. I searched “how to identify mushrooms” on DuckDuckGo, which then so helpfully spammed my screen with this lovely advice (see image with alt text). The source of much of my knowledge is mushroomexpert.com, managed by Michael Kuo.
“A mushroom is identified by its characteristics”. I could get semantic here too about the definition of a mushroom, but talk about a pretty useless statement. Fine though. That’s well enough and good if you want an explanation that is super entry level. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though I don’t remember telling the ‘AI’ that I wanted only entry level information.
Then it talks about the danger in attempting to ID mushrooms because of the potential for poisoning. It tacitly assumes that my wanting to ID a mushroom means I want to eat it. I don’t. I just like mushrooms. I have a problem with the whole ‘some are poisonous’ throw-in, like its something their lawyers required them to include. How many are poisonous? 90%? 5%? We have no idea, and that’s OK. I didn’t tell the ‘AI’ that I wanted information on whether or not they were poisonous. But, as I’ll get to, the fact that this is included is not my problem. My problem is what they don’t include.
I think mushrooms are awesome. I think the fact that some of them are poisonous is relevant only based on the human-centric assumptions ‘AI’ is so obsessed with and what it’s dataset is built on. I don’t see the value in a mushroom based on whether or not I can eat it, and it chaffs me that they don’t also include any information about their ecological roles. You know what is a great way to identify a mushroom (including if I want to eat it)?!?!?! Their ecology (essentially, their ‘behavior’)!!! Let’s be sure to not mention that, #TechBros.
Ok let’s keep going, cause we’ve made it this far. It suggests talking to a #mycologist. It turns out that I don’t have any experienced mycologists on call. Mycologists are helpful but busy people. And I’m more likely than most of the population to know mycologists. You might as well say, ‘don’t bother trying to ID the mushroom’. Way to kill my interest immediately in something I’m trying to get into. If you really want to learn to ID mushrooms for foraging, there are sources you can look up to help you.
I’ll get to my main point. Identification of certain mushroom forming fungi to species is essentially impossible. Look up Amanitas or Russulas on mushroomexpert.com (phenomenal source, old school blogging). There is no clear delineating of what a mushroom forming species even is. Scientists argue over and reclassify bird subspecies all the time. Imagine the black box that is mushroom forming fungi, which most of the time is a web of single-cell wide threads hidden in the soil. Some mushrooms historically were ‘IDed’ (scientifically) by taste or color, which as you all know everyone experiences these things the same, all the time. And, darnit, I happened to leave my DNA sequencing kit at home (as if there aren’t issues with classifying mushroom forming fungi on their DNA alone).
If ‘AI’ were functional, to me, it would include the suggestion that one option is, instead of focusing on species, focus on species groupings (this also applies to foraging for mushrooms if done thoughtfully). Species groupings can be more useful, as is sometimes saying: “I don’t need to know exactly what this is. I’ll just focus on it’s ecology instead of obsessing over an arbitrary definition”. This nuance is not something that can be corrected with better algorithms or more training data (in fact, its going to get worse), because #LLM s are designed to spit out the lowest common denominator.
In the end, given all the questions I brought up, the biggest problems I have with ‘AI’ is that it falsely assumes something gigantic about the question I am asking and gives a simplified and highly misleading perception of how much we actually know. I think it makes a big mistake assuming that I am uncurious and want a bare-minimum answer. And when it comes to the grand total of all there is to know about mushroom forming fungi, we know next to nothing. Of course, 'AI' cannot say that because 'AI' doesn't know what it doesn't know.
You know who can identify and communicate all of these nuances? Humans.
#nature #mushrooms #fungi #AI #technology #artificialIntelligence #ecology #solarPunk #EcologicalReciprocity
"Despair is a black leather jacket that everyone looks good in. Hope is a frilly, pink dress that exposes the knees." @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social
#Solarpunk picks of the day:
➡️ @solarpunkpresents - Podcast on trying to create a sustainable future
➡️ @FullyAutomatedRPG - Free open source RPG with solarpunk theme
➡️ @alxd - Co-author of Solarpunk Prompts podcast
➡️ @susankayequinn - Speculative fiction author, hopepunk & solarpunk
➡️ @arndell - Works at NGO Medecins Sans Frontieres, solarpunk enthusiast
➡️ @greenfediverse - Listing Fediverse servers running on more sustainable energy sources
🧵 1/3
Hey #solarpunk people from outside of the Global North!
@SolarpunkConference would like to hear your voices on why they should allow you to watch their online #conference without having a credit card compatible with the US payment system!
Do we have anyone from #Ukraine or anywhere in #Africa ? #Brazil ? #India ? #southAmerica ? #southEastAsia ?
https://mastodon.world/@SolarpunkConference/113957600020215218
#globalSouth #socialJustice #climate #climateChange #event #futurism #hope #hopepunk #anarchism
Guten Morgen - Tässle Kaffee ☕️?
Heute habe ich gute #Solarpunk - Nachrichten! 📰
Die Produktion an #Ökostrom , v.a. an #Solarenergie steigt so schnell, dass es immer öfter #Strom - Überschüsse (!) gibt. Wenn also jetzt noch die bereits bestehenden (!) #Speicher - Technologien wie #bidirektionalesLaden, #RedoxFlowBatterien & grüner #Wasserstoff schneller hochgefahren werden, kann #Deutschland seine #Energiewende mit erneuerbaren #Wohlstandsenergien schaffen! 🇩🇪🇪🇺🔋🙌🌞 https://scilogs.spektrum.de/natur-des-glaubens/zuviel-oekostrom-solarstrom-speicher-in-deutschland-schaffen-erneuerbare-wohlstandsenergien-jetzt/
https://tinjar.ghost.io/a-new-faith/
Until June 16 - Part 1 of "A New Faith" can be downloaded in #PDF or #EPUB format #drmfree
If you like it, please subscribe for the rest of the story.
#solarpunk #climatefiction #sciencefiction #fiction #climatechange #adaptation #migration #novel #amwriting #writingcommunity #bookstodon
Small anecdote regarding Food Rescue in our town.
We have a bakery that we've started working with. They bake fresh each day and at night they would have to throw away anything they didn't sell.
So we partner with them every evening and pick up the baked goods that they would normally throw away and either take it to another org that makes hot food for folks or to the free fridges in town for people to pick up on their own.
They call us each evening before close to let us know if they have any food for pickup. If they don't call, it's generally because they sold out that day (yay for them!).
An interesting pattern emerged though. We would get regular calls on some days and other days were completely silent. We would never receive calls on those evenings. Week after week.
So I asked about it one time when doing a pickup and the baker told us that those days were staffed by a woman who had experienced a lot of trauma. She specifically would not call even if they had food to pick up because she never wanted to be in a position where she was alone with a man after close.
That seemed very prudent, reasonable, and safe of her given her circumstances and experience.
We took the time to learn about our neighbors and worked with the woman to meet her needs for safety and comfort. We found out that she was much more comfortable with another woman or femme presenting person doing the pick up. We found a couple of gleaners that were willing to do the pickup and they went over during business hours when it was slow and just got to know the baker.
They built trust and established safety guidelines and now we have regular calls during these evenings as well.
The lady was very very very happy that she could help feed people and was very happy that we were willing to work with her to find a solution that brought her comfort, peace of mind, and actual safety.
I thought y'all might like to hear that. We'll find a way to take care of everyone.
'Times may be getting tougher, but a hell of a lot of people are committed to doing good. And the best of the good is the #nature that makes up our planet.' ▶️ https://steadyhq.com/en/naturematchcuts/posts/718b5dba-b9d3-448b-96a7-38e99d4ef017
My new blog post about #writing in hard times, developing a story, messy mind palace rooms, #accents, and the sweet poison of #passion. @writers @writing
#storytelling #podcasting #blog #naturelovers #accent #languages #interviews #moreThanHuman #creativity #journalism #solarpunk #hopepunk #author
first post on mastodon, here’s some of my work!
I’m a sci-fi / fantasy illustrator and hoping to connect with other artists on here as well✌🏼✨
#scifiart #sciencefiction #solarpunk #procreate #digitalart #illustration #fantasyart #comicart
I am proud to present you with an interview with an incredible @adapalmer straight from this year #Bazyliszek convention, now available as a #solarpunkPrompts special!
#solarpunk #history #scienceFiction #rome #climate #purity #writing #imagination #hopepunk #apocalypse
'Social Inflation'
I want to introduce a concept I'll call "social inflation", defined as 'the gradual thinning of the interpersonal resources of a society'. I imagine that the field of sociology has some language for this, but let's pretend I'm coming up with something new.
Economic inflation is something we are long familiar with, as it is just assumed that everything has to always get more expensive as 'standards of living' (for the wealthy) must perpetually increase (not wages, though). Social inflation, however, is impossible to define quantitatively. Leading up to times of turmoil there is a creeping breakdown of relationships that can snap suddenly, a socio-economic depression, to the point that our civil institutions can no longer function. Globally, we may be entering a socio-economic depression that will drastically reshape our states and institutions.
I believe that social and economic inflation, essentially the drawdown of resources that support our civic institutions, is driven by technological grifting and worker exploitation. #Luddite platforms simultaneously address workers rights and techno-scams. The foundation of #Luddism, to me, is addressing these two intertwining factors, by rejecting the hyper-technological 'growth' used to justify the 'trickle down' approach to economics that exploits workers and destroys the planet. #usPol #SolarPunk #Sociology #PoliticalScience
Dzisiaj w Radiu Kapitał leci mój odcinek (o 21!), taki zwyczajny, co mi tam w głowie ostatnio grało, zobaczycie ;)
ALE
Mamy też dla was razem z Martyną Łysakiewicz, @alxd i @varelse coś NADZWYCZAJNEGO!
W czwartek, 10 lipca, o 20, na antenie radia będziecie mogli posłuchać zapisu audio z naszego panelu na Bazyliszku-Polconie "Dlaczego Solarpunk jest trudny?".
Zapraszam bardzo serdecznie do słuchania, bo uważam, że fajnie nam to wyszło!
@radiokapital #solarpunk #bazyliszek #polcon
Chapters 27 and 28 of "A New Faith" are up on the website at https://tinjar.ghost.io/a-new-faith
Parts 1 and 2 are available to #download (or read online) for #free in #DRMfree #PDF and #EPUB formats
#solarpunk #hopepunk #clifi #book #bookstodon #novel #fiction #scifi #climate #adaptation #migration #mystery #thriller #booksky #amwriting #authorsky #WritersCoffeeClub #WordWeavers #ScribesAndMakers #PennedPossibilities #writingcommunity #sciencefiction #climatefiction
Part 3 begins!
Finally, the stakes come into focus.
How does it all end?
Chapter 29 of "A New Faith" is up on the website at https://tinjar.ghost.io/a-new-faith
Parts 1 and 2 are available to #download (or read online) for #free in #DRMfree #PDF and #EPUB formats
#solarpunk #hopepunk #books #bookstodon #novel #climatechange #adaptation #migration #mystery
#thriller #amwriting #WritersCoffeeClub
#WordWeavers #ScribesAndMakers
#PennedPossibilities #writingcommunity #sciencefiction
#climatefiction
Introducing the Tinker WriterDeck OS!
Convert any laptop and most chromebooks into a writer deck: A device designed solely for writing.
No distractions.
No internet.
No apps. No games. No social media.
Just writing.
The Tinker WriterDeck is very light weight and specifically seeks to lower the barrier of entry to creating writer decks. It converts older, reused, refurbished, or inexpensive laptops into a dedicated writing machine.
A digital typewriter.
The Tinker WriterDeck sits on top of a "headless" Debian Linux image and boots directly into a console based text editor.
We're using the Tilde Text Editor because it is a simple text editor, has an intuitive User Interface, and allows for customized color schemes for light and dark modes.
Operating System download and instructions on how to convert your laptop into a dedicated writer deck for free are found here: https://tinker.sh
See below for an example of the writer deck in light mode and dark mode.
If anyone has any questions or needs any help setting your laptop up, let me know here!
#solarPunk #linux #writerDeck #bookstodon #writing #writingCommunity #author #libraries
Redoble de tambores 🥁
Os dejo por aquí mi página de precampaña para #verkami
¡Apuntáos si queréis enteraros las primeras cuando salga definitivamente!
Ein Troll wollte mich & meine Begeisterung für den Erkenntnistheoretiker Karl #Popper mit der Bezeichnung „Solarpopper“ beleidigen. Fühle mich dadurch aber eher geehrt & habe nun als #Solarpunk & #Solarpopper gebloggt, beide Bezeichnungen auch ins #Mastodon - Profil übernommen. 😊📚🖖 https://scilogs.spektrum.de/natur-des-glaubens/solarpunk-und-solarpopper-wasserstoff-hoffnung-wunsiedel-bayern/
"Michael, Du hast doch viel über #Dialog & #Frieden zu #Israel & #Palästina gearbeitet, auch über diesen #Solarpunk. Hast Du echt noch Hoffnung?"
"Manchmal ist es schwer, weil ich das Gefühl habe, dass es viele Leute eher nervt. Deine Frage tut deswegen schon richtig gut."
"Klar nervst Du. Demokratie, Wissenschaft, wir alle haben schon genug Probleme. Aber die meisten von uns wissen Deine Hartnäckigkeit schon auch zu schätzen. Nerve weiter, bitte."
🥲
I'm looking to build out the Free Fridge & Community Pantries in my town.
I'll continue to update this thread with my progress.
So, the idea is to have nodes throughout town that allow folks to "Give a Food, Take a Food". Similar to "Little Free Libraries" are to books. Folks who have extra food can drop it off there, folks who need food can grab it there.
The focus here is mutual aid, not charity. So, absolutely, if you are food insecure or hungry, utilize it, right. Beyond that though, this is a great piece of infrastructure to share extra food with your neighbors. I will go down to the free fridge we have in town, drop off some of my extra produce that I have grown, and then pick up a can of black beans if I need it for dinner that night. We're meant to contribute AND utilize the free fridge.
There are many ways to create and maintain free fridges, from something as simple as a small box or outdoor cabinet on up to full stand up refrigerators and freezers with an outdoor pantry.
In general, you want it to be a couple of things:
- Accessible to the public
- 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- Unmanned
- No restrictions on who can utilize it or take food from it - it should NOT employ any means-testing
- Receive shelf stable food and/or refrigerated food and/or frozen food
Further, you can break up the different groups that are involved in the free fridge:
- The Host
- The Maintainers
- The Community
The Host - provides a location for the fridge and pantry to be installed and accessed. They also provide electricity to power the fridge/freezer
The Maintainers - this would be my group. We source, install, maintain, repair, and clean the fridge, freezer, and pantry.
The Community - contributes food to and utilizes food from the fridge and pantry. This is important. While the host provides the site and the Maintainers keep it operational, neither one has to stock food or coordinate utilization. The community does it themselves.
Having it split up like this is nice. Can folks from the Host group maintain it? Certainly. But extrapolating it allows for ease of use.
So. Keeping it stocked is up to the community. I've seen it stocked by gardeners who have extra produce (Zucchini turns folks into socialists is the joke! You just grow sooooo much you end up LOSING FRIENDS when you try to push it off on others!). I've seen it stocked through Food Rescue efforts. Some families buy extra from the grocery store and this is a great place to drop it off. I've even seen the local Food Bank drop off extra food when they had left overs from a food distribution.
Keeping it utilized is also easy. You don't want the fridge to stay stocked, right. You want it to stay in the fridge for as short a period of time as possible before someone comes and grabs it. Heck! I've seen a food rescue of fresh produce from a farmer's market vendor be dropped off at a free fridge and then claimed by several families even before it had a chance to be placed physically into the fridge! This is ideal. One fridge and pantry needs to serve the local neighborhood. That's many many families. It can only do so if its filled up and then utilized multiple times a day.
Next post, I'll put some resources on starting your own in your town.
#freeFridge #foodScarcity #foodSecurity #postScarcity #solarPunk #mutualAid
![dancing in dystopia
[PANEL DYSKUSYJNY] Dlaczego Solarpunk jest trudny?
Czwartek, 10 lipca, 20-21
radiokapital.pl
Ilustracja: Solarpunk Lab, Karl Schulschenk, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, https://storyseedlibrary.org/art/karl-schulschenk-solarpunk-lab/ [w laboratorium w szklarni siedzi haker o ciemnym kolorze skóry, w super cool stylówce, z fioletowymi włosami i protezą zamiast jednej ręki, czyni jakąś solarpunkową technologiczną magię]](/proxy/post_attachment/123617/9a5d0120bb.jpg "dancing in dystopia
[PANEL DYSKUSYJNY] Dlaczego Solarpunk jest trudny?
Czwartek, 10 lipca, 20-21
radiokapital.pl
Ilustracja: Solarpunk Lab, Karl Schulschenk, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, https://storyseedlibrary.org/art/karl-schulschenk-solarpunk-lab/ [w laboratorium w szklarni siedzi haker o ciemnym kolorze skóry, w super cool stylówce, z fioletowymi włosami i protezą zamiast jednej ręki, czyni jakąś solarpunkową technologiczną magię]")
