#solarpunkpresentspodcast — Public Fediverse posts

7.2: Ariel & Christina Discuss: Why Must Utopia Be Cruel?

In this episode, Ariel and Christina try to get to the bottom of why our fictional visions of utopia are so negative. They often involve mindless acquiescence to an authoritarian nanny state, the oppression and labor of an underclass, or both. It’s as if we can’t imagine a situation in which we all voluntarily treat each other (reasonably) decently and life can be good for everyone. We discuss the literary origins of utopia, how it has evolved (or not) as a concept, and Ariel gives a few examples of sci-fi futures that are about as close to her style of solarpunk utopia as can be. Ultimately, the topic of utopia raises more questions than answers.

https://youtu.be/WR8yg2cOcMk?si=AwMMgH2MNFHmO8Ct

#solarpunk #SolarpunkPresentsPodcast #Season7 #Episode #PodcastEpisode #YouTube #utopia #SirThomasMore #SaintThomasMore #ThomasMore #Dystopia #Protopia #WakandaForever #BlackPanther #Indigenous Futurisms #Afrofuturism #Utopias #Anti-Utopia #LiteraryHistory #Cruelty #Despair #Hope #UntopiaParadox #Omelas #TheOnesWhoStayAndFight #TheOnesWhoWalkAwayFromOmelas

Bonus Episode: Ariel Chats With Aislinn Clancy, Green Party of Ontario Incumbent

In this bonus episode, Ariel talks with Aislinn Clancy, Green Party of Ontario candidate and incumbent MPP for Kitchener Centre in the upcoming snap Ontario Election. This isn’t an endorsement, but a discussion that hopes to prod solarpunk talking points into the realm of politics. Aislinn and I talk about Green Party of Ontario goals for clean energy, supporting local workers, and how to channel your passion for social justice issues that you care about into empowering activism.

https://youtu.be/Bux_AEUlyoM

#solarpunk #SolarpunkPresentsPodcast #podcast #podcasting #AislinnClancy #GreenPartyofOntario #GreenPartyofCanada #MPP #KitchenerCentre #Canadianpolitics #KitchenerCentrePolitics #ProvincialElection #DirectDemocracy #Democracy #grassrootsOrganization #PoliticalOrganization #housingCrisis #workersRights @KitCenGreens #GreenParty #GreenPolitics

Season 3 Episode 7: Protecting the Environment With GIS: Mapping WWII's Sunken Ships with Paul Heersink

This week, Ariel chats with Paul Heersink, cartographer and Program Manager for the Roads and Addresses program at ESRI Canada. Formerly, he was Production Manager of the Community Maps Program: an initiative that is aiming to build a seamless topographic basemap of Canada using contributor data, and the Roads and Addresses program aims to do the same with community-sourced data, building a navigable map of Canada with the most up-to-date information provided by those who know it best.

Paul also personally maintains and updates a map of the sunken battleships (and other naval vessels) that were downed during World War Two. Paul’s map combines two of his interests - cartography and WWII history and, though it started as a passion project outside of work, Paul has been approached by numerous organizations since publishing his data that are very interested in using it to support salvaging and reclamation efforts. The ships have been called “ticking ecological time bombs” as they are carrying crude oil, munitions, and other toxic materials that can leach into the water around them as the hulls degrade. That said, some also contain traditional treasure! Join us for a discussion about the details.

https://youtu.be/R4-xfO8ff2Q?si=kAV-Fj5W7TpCE3CK

#Episode #Season3 #YouTube #solarpunk #SolarpunkPresentsPodcast #podcast #GIS #maps #SunkenShips #OceanMapping #OceanPollution #Oil #Ships #WW2 #WWII #ESRI #ESRICanada #GeographicInformationalSystems

Classic, post-apocalyptic, dystopian fiction is a type of fantasy where we’re dreaming of starting over in an empty landscape from a societal and cultural slate wiped clean by some devastating event that we don’t have to feel guilty about having happened—at least, it is according to our very own @arielkroon, who does, yes, have a PhD in it.* Yet, at the same time, these fantasies generally suffer from a strange lack of imagination, wherein the characters use the “fresh new start” to recreate the same old society, albeit with themselves at the top, with the same old systemic socioeconomic, environmental, and structural problems.

It’s almost as if it is easy to dream up apocalypse but next to impossible to envision a different way of living. Although a failure of imagination would most likely look different for solarpunk, can solarpunk creators and dreamers of a positive future avoid falling into the same sort of trap?

*Post-apocalyptic Canadian science-fiction 1948-1989, she wants to clarify. She’s even got the thesis to prove it.

#solarpunk #solarpunkpresentspodcast #fiction #scienceFiction #apocalypse #Postapocalypse #academia #SFscholarship #SciFi #SciFiScholarship #SFStories #FeministScienceFiction #storytelling #SolarpunkStorytelling #Utopia #FutureFiction #PositiveFutures

https://youtu.be/IdouMiiRoWc?si=9h6QeKJ8Ghf0k6G-

This week's blog post is a companion to yesterday's vlog. @xtinadlr gives us an on-the-ground look at the flooding of the Elbe, as she documented the river's rise throughout the holidays. Bonus footage of a wild nutria and pics of the Schlosskirche in Lutherstadt Wittenberg where Martin Luther nailed up the 95 theses!

https://www.solarpunkpresents.com/blog/eqg4shnhz4cqyqfaf4vpqw2f2x6h8t

#blog #solarpunkpresentspodcast #schlosskirche #martinluther #lutherstadtwittenberg #95theses #flood #wittenberggermany #river #elbe #elbeflood #Nutria #pictures #videos #water #vlog