The “Solarpunk” Online Group Shares 30 Environmental Memes That People Who Are Sick Of Capitalism Destroying The Planet Can Relate To

A cornerstone of the solarpunk belief system is the dream for technology and nature to exist in harmony. This is displayed through beautiful images of “lush green communities with roof-top gardens, floating villages, transport fueled by clean energy” and more. Explored in a BBC News article, solarpunk has been slowly gaining traction since 2008. “Solarpunk is really the only solution to the existential corner of climate disaster we have backed ourselves into as a species,” says Michelle Tulumello, a solarpunk art teacher. “If we wish to survive and keep some of the things we care about on the earth with us, it involves a necessary fundamental alteration in our world view where we change our outlook completely from competitive to cooperative."

As the name implies, the desire for increased solar energy is paramount to the solarpunk community. Sunlight is almost universally accessible, unlike natural gas and other fossil fuels, making it a preferred source of power for many environmental activists. Solarpunks dream to diverge from capitalism and reconnect with nature, and that starts with less dependence on our outdated electrical grids. All renewable energy sources are steps in the right direction, but solar power is the ideal source for solarpunks. 

One possible reason solarpunk has needed time to take off is due to the negative connotations associated with the word punk. A spinoff from the imagined aesthetics of steampunk and juxtaposed to the dark future of cyberpunk, solarpunk creates a more optimistic, yet still radical, idea of our world. Phoebe Tickell, a biologist and solarpunk activist, told BBC News, “Prescribing to people that they need to be more solarpunk is much less inviting to them than encouraging people to exercise their own imaginations.” But to really enact change, people cannot be afraid of the side effects. Jay Springett, a solarpunk activist and admin of Solarpunks.net, describes the “poisonous pill” that must be swallowed when embracing solarpunk ideals. “It means that there's the decentralization of technology, the decentralization of power.”

Bored Panda got in touch with solarpunk activist Phoebe Tickell to ask what solarpunk means to her. She told us, "Solarpunk represents a new narrative and disruptive meme that can help me imagine a better future. It's an aesthetic, it's a sci-fi sub-genre, it's a movement, it's a vision of the future. It's called solarpunk because 'solar' refers to renewable energy and living in harmony with the sun, and 'punk' is about rebellion, innovation, open-source and collective action. Imagine a future where all human beings are treated with the same level of respect and dignity, we are living 100% off renewables, building tech ourselves, co-existing with animal companions and growing our own food at the same time."

She told us the reasons she loves solarpunk are because "it takes three narratives and weaves them together". The first being "that we need to protect nature and return to the land". The second being "that technology can be a force for common good". And the third being the importance of "human flourishing, social justice and equity". "These narratives usually exist in siloes and different tribes," Phoebe told us. "But solarpunk brings them together and asks us to imagine a world that optimises for all three."

As of now, there have not been too many explicit mainstream examples of solarpunk, but oddly enough, a Chobani commercial from 2021 featured a sparkling example of a solarpunk future. The ad featured bright blue skies dotted with blimps generating wind power and endless fields surrounding a beautiful, high tech city. Robots helped harvest produce, and a note from Grandma hung on the fridge saying, “Our job is to plant seeds so our grandkids get to enjoy the fruit. Because how we eat today feeds tomorrow.” Some popular films have also featured solarpunk themes, such as Black Panther and many beloved Studio Ghibli films, like Castle in the Sky and Princess Mononoke.

We asked Phoebe how she has seen the movement grow over the years, and she told us, "When I first discovered solarpunk in 2015, nobody was talking about it. My blog was called 'Humans, Nature, Tech' at the time, because I was interested in what happens if you bring the three together and explore creating a new world from that lens. I was really keen to spread the word so I changed my Twitter handle to solarpunk_girl and did the same with my Instagram. I started speaking more widely on the topic in 2019 and since then I've seen a sharp increase in interest. More and more people are asking me about what solarpunk is, and I am seeing people writing their own articles and creating memes, artwork and even communities around the topic. In 2020, I started a design and research studio called Moral Imaginations which helps people imagine a solarpunk future. Last year this peaked when I was contacted by the BBC for an interview on solarpunk and imagination."

Lastly, we asked Phoebe where she recommends people who are curious about solarpunk start their journey, and she provided great resources. "Search for 'solarpunk' on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and follow the influencers they find on the topic. They could also follow RenaissanceU where we are creating solarpunk education programs. They could also get started on solarpunk sci-fi: The Dispossessed and Always Coming Home by Ursula Le Guin, Walkaway by Cory Doctrow, Dune by Frank Herbert, Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, Island by Aldous Huxley for some old school solarpunk, and Black Panther by Ta-Nahisi Coates for something more recent. Allow your imagination to explore these future, disruptive and radical scenarios and then find your communities online and start contributing in your own way to the movement - whether that is via fiction writing, artwork, memes or other ways of contributing to the plurality of these imagined futures!"