My philosophy is that in order to get good habits that save the climate and environment there has to be non-ideological benefits. Money, laziness, reliability, etc.
Reframing actions is in my opinion the right way forward. At least to help others into doing the right things. I am excited to hear your ideas.
FYI: Norway
Repair Avoid the work of finding the replacement, period of not being able to use it, getting rid of the packaging/trash etc. Not being able to use a smartphone or PC is incredibly frustrating. Repair is faster than sending it in to the seller. Money is also a bonus.
No car No car is simply to avoid stress, maintenance, parking, and of course money.
Buying used Used is often nice as it saves me the time to build the IKEA furniture, delivery to my door, cheaper etc.
Selling used Can get rid of large items without carrying it out. Not having have to take it to the recycling center.
Growing herbs Simply higher quality, and always having it available
Public transit Able to focus on something else than driving. I prefer playing games, reading, etc. Safer. Cheaper. Also more walking which gives health benefits.
Apartment living Close to no maintenance, a house is soooo much work. Not something I am willing to spend my life doing (I have tried).
Airtravel Meh, too many hurdles. Should be a really good reason or very long distances on rare occasions. For shorter distances trains is a lot more comfortable. An airplane is far from the hour you spend in the air. It includes the waiting, security, boarding, travel to airport etc. I’d rather travel and stay a place for multiple weeks, not going through all those hurdles for a weekend or only a week, atleast 2-3 weeks, preferably longer.
More ideas?
freegan: scavenge free discarded stuff (edible or not) and DIY it to not be dependent on mass production when it inevitably raises prices or collapses.
Using Vegan Meat Alternatives: They generally don’t create nearly as much of a mess when cooking, don’t have any risk of contracting prion disease (mad cow), lower your risk of cancer, and can even be cheaper than real meat like Beef.
Using low-power devices to save energy: Lower power bills.
Raising the indoor temp during the summer, lowering during the winter: Lower heating/cooling bills (If your house is well insulated and you have small bedrooms, in the winter you can even lower your indoor temp to 60 or 55f and just use small affordable electric heaters in your personal rooms to keep them at around 68f, combined with some comfy warmer clothing).
We literally started growing our own food because hubs wanted hanaberos and tomatillos and both were impossible to get in Australia.
That was 20 years ago granted and they’re everywhere now but he ain’t going back :)
(USA)
Less lawn care and more native plants: save money on fertilizer, save time on mowing, grass looks better too, you get fireflies and birds.
Own tomatoes taste much better. And they grow like weeds in subtropical regions of the US, so very little effort needed there.
Repair and DIY: You want to get ripped off by some person who will also put minimum effort into fixing your house or things? Or worse, company salesman who will wear you out with endless speeches until you agree? “Want it done right? Do it yourself”.
Solar power: This is MY power.
No car / smaller car / older car: Gas is expensive (ironic for Americans, I know, but it’s a common complaint)
Smaller house / apartment: Save lots of money on heating and cooling, pay less taxes and lower insurance rates.
But to even get this far, we have to somehow overcome cultural norms, such as: my neighbor(s) whose hobby is mowing the grass twice a week; people ordering shit on Amazon as the default; stupid laws about solar; wanting a bigger car, house, yard for no practical reason.
And I can’t find a good selfish argument against big tech and AI - it’s free, and most people are indifferent about external costs and surveillance.
I believe the biggest issue with big tech and AI is that there is not many selfish reasons to avoid it unless you care about privacy and potential lock-out.
I am struggling with coming up with any good selfish reasons. It’s hard to beat free, fairly good service and decent UX.
Depending on what you define as big tech.
I hate ads, that’s my personal reason for adblocking where possible and avoiding where not.
Second hand clothes: thrift shops are a much better experience than regular clothes shops. Instead of getting the same 5 pairs of pants/shirts in slightly different colors and multiple sizes, you get a huge variety of styles and just have to find something that you like and fits well enough. I started buying jeans from thrift shops when high-rise pants got popular and EVERY other shop sold only high-rise jeans. Plus, if the clothes have been worn before you know they won’t desintegrate the first time you put them in the washer.
idk about “egotistical” because while much of solarpunk aligns with my personal ethos, a lot of that ethos developed due to living in poverty with chronic pain and mental illness. i probably wouldn’t have developed the linux autism without that.
my partner does a few things that technically fall under solarpunk as well. he likes to go around the neighbourhood during bulk pickup season to sort through the trash on their curbs, take home anything interesting, repair it if needed, keeps what he likes, sells what he doesn’t. we love hitting up thrift stores and pawn shops for fun (and sometimes profit). we used to do public transit but due to weather and/or my mobility we mostly just travel with his mom in her car now. he also helps her with the gardening, only some of which is produce. he’s currently the go-to lawnmower repair guy for the landlord next door, and is paid well. he does the maintenance on our rental home but afaik he does all this purely because that’s just how he is. he wouldn’t even call it solarpunk.
these are pretty great! using renewable energy sources “paying for themselves” after x amount of time is the only reason my parents made the investment
avoiding how things have become really poor quality is another reason to try to get things to last as long as possible.
any new tech all the way down to fridges and vacuums and pet feeders are now riddled with ai and/or surveillance tech, so repair or buying used is infinitely preferable now!
fabric used for clothing is so much thinner and lower quality than they used to be even just 20 or 30 years ago, so hunting down older clothes second-hand and/or mending the ones people already have will be cheaper and warmer than getting something new that’s designed to start disintegrating after just a few washes
