SteveKLord

🌟 Join us for an inspiring talk by Philip M. Crosby, Adjunct Associate Professor of Architecture at Temple University, as he delves into the exciting realm of solarpunk urban design. 🏙️ With a wealth of experience in architecture and urban design, Crosby explores the intersection of science fiction narratives and sustainable city planning, focusing particularly on the empowering potential of solarpunk ideology.

In this captivating presentation, Crosby shares insights from his extensive research, revealing how solarpunk serves as a powerful tool for envisioning the future of our cities. 🔍 Drawing on his expertise, he discusses innovative strategies for redesigning city streets to promote sustainability, community engagement, and social equity.

Learn how Crosby's interdisciplinary approach, informed by his background in architecture, urban design, and architectural history and theory, offers a fresh perspective on addressing contemporary urban challenges. 🌱 Discover the transformative potential of solarpunk aesthetics and principles in reshaping our urban landscapes for a brighter, more sustainable future.

Chants of “Free Palestine” and “Never again” filled the air on Tuesday evening in front of The Sinclair music venue in Cambridge. A group of around 150 people, including Sinclair workers and supporters, gathered outside of the venue to protest Israeli singer-songwriter Ishay Ribo’s concert that raised funds for the “healing and rebuilding of Israel,” according to the event webpage. Hosted by Harvard Chabad, the event featured two performances on Feb. 27. (A second show was added after the first sold out.)

According to several Sinclair staff members, the entire staff of approximately 40 people boycotted, and third-party workers were hired to staff the event. A spokesperson from The Sinclair declined to comment about event staffing; Harvard Chabad did not return questions about event staffing.

On February 25, Aaron Bushnell set himself on fire at the gate of the Israeli embassy in Washington, DC as an act of protest against the ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. Hostile critics have attempted to shrug off Aaron’s action as the consequence of mental illness. On the contrary, Aaron’s choice was a political action arising from his deeply held anarchist convictions. In the following collection, we share Aaron’s own summary of his politics, followed by testimony from three of Aaron’s close friends.

If you like the idea of a perpetual three-day weekend, you might be one of a growing cadre that supports the concept of degrowth: a school of thought aimed at shrinking economies and moving away from GDP growth as a metric of success, while instead emphasizing universal basic services and social well-being. The idea is gaining followers, especially in Europe and especially among young people. But it’s not just a fringe theory. A Beyond Growth conference hosted by the European Parliament last May saw 7,000 attendees, including the president of the European Commission.

Akielly Hu, Grist’s news and politics fellow, discussed the growing popularity of degrowth with Kohei Saito — a Marxist author whose 2020 degrowth manifesto quickly turned into a bestseller in Japan and beyond. (The English translation, called Slow Down, was just released last month.)

Kuza Freezers has been running for three years and has delivered more than 350 machines to customers, including fish traders, poultry and milk vendors and ice salespeople.

Each freezer comes with a battery that can be charged using a solar panel.

A two-hour charge means up to 7 hours of operating time

Google has struck a deal with Reddit that will allow the search engine maker to train its AI models on Reddit’s vast catalog of user-generated content, the two companies announced. Under the arrangement, Google will get access to Reddit’s Data API, which will help the company “better understand” content from the site.

The deal also provides Google with a valuable source of content it can use to train its AI models. “Google will now have efficient and structured access to fresher information, as well as enhanced signals that will help us better understand Reddit content and display, train on, and otherwise use it in the most accurate and relevant ways,” the company said in a statement.

If you could change anything, what would you change? Would you go on vacation for the rest of your life? Make fossil fuels stop causing climate change? Ask for ethical banks and politicians? Surely nothing could be more unrealistic than to keep everything the way it is and expect different results.

Our private financial and emotional struggles mirror global upheaval and disaster. We could spend the rest of our days trying to douse these fires one by one, but they stem from the same source. No piecemeal solution will serve; we need to rethink everything according to a different logic.

Tim Robinson is famous for making uncomfortable social situations funny — in a cringe-inducing way. On his Netflix sketch show I Think You Should Leave, he’s played a range of oddball characters: a contestant on a replica of The Bachelor who’s only there for the zip line; a man in a hot dog costume who claims he’s not responsible for crashing the hot dog car through the window of a clothing store; a guy wearing a really weird hat at work. These sketches are, for the most part, an escape from the heavy subjects that keep people up at night.

So it might come as a surprise that Robinson’s next move was a climate change PSA. “I’m sick and tired of scientists telling us mean, bad facts about our world in confusing ways,” Robinson shouts at the camera in a recent sketch. Playing a TV host named Ted Rack, he invites a climate scientist on his show “You Expect Me to Believe That?” for a messaging makeover.

Our present moment is saturated in dystopian, apocalyptic fantasies of the future.

Fortunately, visions of a more beautiful, compassionate, regenerative future already exist. But since they're not being broadcast daily on the evening news, we've got to dedicate a little more energy to broadcasting them ourselves.

This is what this list of films is for. These films decided that the apocalypse is canceled. Climate change is canceled. Biodiversity loss is canceled. A comeback of this scale has never been attempted before, but that's why it's going to work. Ya dig? The people in these films aren't listening to the folks that say it's too late. They're imagining the future they want, not the future they're afraid of, and they're bringing that future into being.

We are excited to announce that we have signed an agreement with author BrightFlame to publish her debut novel, The Working, where a modern coven must thwart a looming eco-cataclysm and find the key to the bright future we all need.

BrightFlame writes, teaches, and makes magic towards a just, regenerative world. Her speculative fiction is featured in Solarpunk Magazine, Bioluminescent (Android Press), and Solarpunk Creatures (World Weaver Press). She is known for her teaching in the worldwide pagan community and co-founded the Center for Sustainable Futures at Columbia University that features her workshops and nonfiction.

Big news: I’ve signed with Water Dragon Publishing to bring you my debut lunarpunk novel, The Working! I look forward to you meeting the coven who must thwart a looming eco-cataclysm and find the key to the bright future we all need. Expected launch: Summer 2024.

(No dragons in my book, but plenty of Witches!)

I liken the book to a contemporary The Once and Future Witches by Alix E Harrow intersecting The City We Became by NK Jemisin.

Consumers in the United States can now pre-order a genetically engineered plant for their home or garden that glows continuously. At a base cost of US$29.00, residents of the 48 contiguous states can get a petunia (Petunia hybrida) with flowers that look white during the day; but, in the dark, the plant glows a faint green. Biotechnology firm Light Bio in Sun Valley, Idaho, will begin shipping a batch of 50,000 firefly petunias in April.

Engineered petunia emits a continuous green glow thanks to genes from a light-up mushroom.