Imagine a world where the current technology are used for the benefit of both people and the environment. It’s called solarpunk. The phrase, which was first used in 2008, is a movement in the arts that broadly envisions what the future might look like if everyone lived in harmony with nature and in a sustainable, egalitarian word. Solar punk is the utopian flipside of Cli-fi. The term was created in 2008 and tries to counter the nihilistic tone of cyber punk - while cyberpunk imagines a future in which technology had led to new, darker problems for humanity, solarpunk offers a more hopeful take, in which technology has led to solutions. Meaning the result is often quite utopian.
The "What if?" in solar punk wonders what a sustainable future looks like and how we can get there, instead of imagining the worst. The ethos of this movement is about finding solutions to achieve consistent and sustainable progress. At it's core, Solar punk tries to find new solutions for help our planet and resists the present by imagining a completely different future
Moreover, it merges different art forms such as literature, architecture, music, clothing, technology into one.
However, Solar punk isn't just a literary genre, it's a world wide movement that inspires artists, companies, universities ect. to think differently about the climate and preserve the hope that we can move forward and improve the climate crisis.
One example is Verne Global, which runs data centre services from a campus in Iceland, powered by 100% renewable energy.
The company's chief technology officer, Tate Cantrell says Iceland's supernatural land-scape fits perfectly with solarpunk.
"The solarpunk ethos embraces technology that disappears into the environment, and technology powered by renewable energy is a literal part of the circular economy - one that eliminates waste through the continual use of resources. This synergy makes renewable energy a very real manifestation of a solarpunk future," he says.
Dune, Frank Herbert 1965 - The novel’s deep spirituality and emphasis on harmony with nature reverberates with solarpunk vibes, and in later books of the series, Arrakis becomes a lush garden planet.
Island, Aldous Huxley 1962 - In it, a jaded reporter forces himself onto an island with the goal of persuading the Kingdom of Pala to sell its oil assets. But as he gets to know its people, he becomes increasingly drawn into this enlightened culture and the harmony among its people and with nature.
Ecotopia, Ernest Callenbach 1975 - This utopian science fiction novel offers a glimpse of what’s possible for humanity, inspired by the environmental movement of the 1970s. Following a succession and creation of a new country in the formerly American West, a reporter enters the newly formed Ecotopia to see if the wild rumors of tree worship, revolutionary politics and sexual extravagance are true.