SteveKLord

The Bonk Song · No$hu

In this bonus chat, Ariel and Christina talk about the 1984 Studio Ghibli film - and solarpunk inspo par excellence - Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Does the film live up to its significant reputation and deserve its cred? Is Nausicaä a solarpunk role model, or is this more of a princess-on-a-mission-style of legend? Tune in as we discuss this and more!

The Byron Bay Railroad Company runs the world's first 100% solar-powered train. It wouldn't work everywhere - but in the bright sunshine of Australia, it might just be the right tool for the job.

More about the railroad: https://byronbaytrain.com.au/

April 17 marks Palestinian Prisoner’s Day, established by the Palestinian National Council in 1974 as a day to honor the thousands of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli occupation prisons and to support their legitimate right to freedom. The date was chosen because it commemorates the release of prisoner Mahmoud Bakr Hijazi in the first prisoner exchange between the Palestinians and Israel. Accordingly, Palestinian Prisoner’s Day considers all those who have served time in prison as “icons of resistance,” thereby representing all Palestinians who have been under brutal occupation for the past 76 years.

In an interview with the New Arab, Charlotte Kates, Samidoun’s coordinator, confirmed that “Palestinians deeply value and honour the tremendous sacrifices that political prisoners have made for the liberation of their land. Each of their lives is precious to them.” She added that Palestinian prisoners are leaders of the resistance who have been detained because Israel understands that they are a threat to the settler colonial system and therefore wants to isolate them away from the world.

“From the earliest days of the Palestinian national liberation movement, imprisonment has always been a weapon used by the colonizer,” Kates confirmed, “and it has always been an inspiration for Palestinian resistance.” More than just the colonizer’s victims, she explained that prisoners are also “leaders, organizers and fighters. They organize behind bars and turn prisons into ‘revolutionary schools’ of the oppressed.” Because they are “central to the liberation movement,” their right to freedom must be part of the liberation struggle along with the isolation of Israel.

Although New York has the largest of several state tax credit incentives for homeowners installing rooftop solar, the state’s “rooftop solar gap” is large, leaving many low-income residents unable to take full advantage of incentives, according to a new report from think tank Win Climate.

New York’s State Solar Tax Credit has paid for 25% of a rooftop solar installation, or $5,000 – whichever is less. The Residential Solar Tax Credit Reform Act (S3596/ A6739) made the tax credit fully refundable, with the intention of allowing low-income homeowners and residents to benefit, and increased the tax credit amount to $10,000.

The report, Closing NY’s Rooftop Solar Gap, aimed to analyze how many New York residents have utilized the State Solar Tax Credit, and how the Residential Solar Tax Credit Reform Act could impact the cost of solar for low-income residents. The “rooftop solar gap” is the difference in rooftop solar installation rates between households making more and less than $50,000 per year.

GAZA -- A man in the Gaza Strip is using solar panels to clean water for his neighbors – a seemingly small gesture that has large consequences at a time when the region is in the midst of a humanitarian crisis.

"Yesterday, I filled this car with clean water from the well, 6,500 liters, and distributed it among people in need of water," Mohammed Assalia told ABC News. "Some people use these wheelchairs to transport the water they fill, which is kinda sad but it does the thing."

As the resource becomes more scarce, Assalia said he is now looking for a way to reach more people in the most devastated area of the Gaza Strip, six months since Israel declared war on Hamas. The high costs involved with the project may hinder his ability to do so without help, he says.

"With the solar-powered well in my house, at least 1,000 people benefited and received clean water every day," Assalia said. "Now people from other neighborhoods have come to use it and we're trying to help more by operating as many wells as possible."

Researchers in China have reportedly developed a new technology similar to hydropanels for harvesting water out of thin air that is powered by energy from the sun. The device could be especially useful in dry, arid areas where water — but not sunlight — is hard to come by.

The findings from the research team from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China were published in the scientific journal Applied Physics Reviews.

"This atmospheric water harvesting technology can be used to increase the daily water supply needs, such as household drinking water, industrial water, and water for personal hygiene," said Ruzhu Wang, one of the study's authors.

According to the study, the device is more efficient than other existing atmospheric water generators because it uses a "novel rotating operational strategy, in which one module works in the desorption, while the others work in the adsorption simultaneously … to keep the device harvesting water continuously."

The technology could also be used for purposes ranging from dehumidification to agriculture irrigation to thermal management for electronic devices.

We are excited to announce our upcoming West Coast speaking tour, Report from Rojava: Women’s Revolution, Direct Democracy & Social Ecology in North-East Syria, which will take place May 11th - 17th, featuring public talks led by ECR members Debbie Bookchin and Arthur Pye.

Tour Schedule:

Sat May 11: Bellingham, WA

Sun May 12: Seattle, WA

Mon May 13: Olympia, WA

Tue May 14: Portland, OR

Thu May 16: San Francisco, CA

Fri May 17: Oakland, CA 

From gazing at the night sky while sleeping on her family’s rooftop in Palestine, to buying her first telescope on eBay in seventh grade (for the sky-high bid of $100), to earning her degree in astrophysics and becoming a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, Abuisnaineh has spent much of her life looking up. During the partial solar eclipse in October 2023, Abuisnaineh brought together her community with what may very well be a first-of-its-kind event in the country: a viewing party that also included the Islamic solar eclipse prayer: salat al-kusuf.

Atlas Obscura spoke with Abuisnaineh about the power of stargazing as a community, the shock of an old man witnessing an eclipse for the first time, and how her religion inspires her to never stop reveling in the majesty of the universe.

On April 8, millions of glasses-clad onlookers will, for the second time in seven years, hold their collective breath. As the celestial odds align, the Earth and moon will be in the perfect position to blot out the sun across the U.S., along with the solar power that makes up an increasing share of our energy mix. With eclipses anticipated decades in advance, local utilities have had time to prepare for the big day. From little Vermont to hulking Texas, how the eclipse will impact the energy grid paints a picture of energy progress, but also how we still depend on fossil fuels to stay resilient.

‍The inclusion of fungi as an official area of interest puts funga on an equal footing as flora and fauna when referring to macroscopic life on Earth. Funga refers to "fungi of a specific region, habitat, or geological period," serving as an equivalent concept to flora and fauna for plants and animals. This historic step will help write this neglected kingdom of life into conservation and agricultural policy frameworks, and unlock crucial funding for mycological research, surveys, and educational programs.

On April 8, 2024, millions of Americans will be able to see a rare celestial occurrence: a total solar eclipse.

It’s going to be awesome. If you’re in the center of the moon’s shadow, known as the totality, the sky will go dark for a few minutes in the middle of the day. The temperature will drop, stars will appear, and birds will become confused and start chirping their nighttime songs.

And it’s all because of a cosmic coincidence: From the Earth, the moon and the sun appear to be roughly the same size.

This will be the last total solar eclipse over the contiguous United States for 21 years. Don’t miss it!