Why We Need More Than Solarpunk

In this Our Changing Climate climate change video essay, I look at the importance of speculative climate fiction, sci-fi, and utopias for political movements. Specifically, I look at various short stories, films, and books that introduce us to worlds beyond capitalism, that have, in their own way addressed our ecological and climate crisis.

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Some visuals courtesy of Getty Images
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Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
1:49 - Should We Dream of the Future?
5:09 - Visions of the Future
16:29 - Building Futures
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Check out other Climate YouTubers:

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#climatechange #sciencefiction #art

[OurChangingClimate]

📚What are some of your favorite climate stories or speculative fictions?

[ecocentrichomestead]

A big attitude that needs to change is the idea that "more is better". Instead, "Enough is best". Enough to be healthy and comfortable. We can go a little beyond that to make our surroundings beautiful. But anything beyond enough must have indefinitely sustainable as it's top priority.

[kristaw]

It may not seem related, but the idea of showing the world what is ideal relates to what I've been doing at my job. My workplace has old clunky programs and ways of doing things, and brought me in to help envision a newer, nicer user interface that is easier to use and benefits all who work there. Once I finally showed my designs, everyone lit up and told me that once they were able to see what was possible, they felt way more motivated to pivot in that direction and get out of the tangled funk they were in. I know I'm tooting my own horn, but that's why I love being a designer! People don't know what they truly want until they see it. I feel the same way about these utopias.

[lyra]

William Morris (yes, the Victorian wallpaper designer) is a very underrated voice on this subject. He was essentially an eco-anarchist. His view in ‘News from Nowhere’ is absolutely beautiful and need to be more widely read - it goes into detail about how beauty and art need to play a part in our future

[comradecatbug]

While I agree with and enjoy this video, I think Black Panther is VERY out of place here. It doesn't represent a progressive solarpunk society. It's an ultra-protectionist, highly imperialist (remember, Wakanda didn't just find and share vibranium, they waged wars for it) ethnostate. Their whole society rests on mining finite resources. The ONLY reason they're even eco-friendly is because that's what's most profitable for them. Their main focus is extracting the miracle metal from their mines, it's eco-friendliness is pyrely coincidental. They're capitalist at heart. Wakanda doesn't represent a future beyond capitalism, it and their sci-fi metal represents the "innovations will reconcile capitalism and climate change" narrative.

[jeyblueberry]

We must hold onto hope and fight for what is possible. They want us to be hopeless and to give up. They want to make the world seem sp bad its not worth fighting for but it is. So long as we exist and are capable of love. It will always be worth fighting for the hope of it

[elizabethdavis]

Please consider doing videos on these topics that billionaires are promoting: effective altruism, lifeboat ethics, pronatalism, and Longtermism. Please read Julia black’s insider article on billionaires promoting pronatalism. Anything billionaires are doing needs to be watched carefully with suspicion

[COPROO]

Dude I started crying while watching this video. With all that struggle I go through as an eco-anarchist, with all these dreams I picture in my head every single day, this video sums up everything that I have to say about why we need utopian thinking. I am currently trying to build a newtopia with a group of other anarchists after a similar style as our fellows did in the little german village Lützerath, which was occupied by activists to prevent an energy company to dig out the coal underneath it, and really the only thing that keeps me fighting is the big dream of a better world. It may not be a perfect world, but it's a world where we can finally thrive peacefully. And I am so emotionally connected to it, I really just started crying to your words. Thank you so so much for everything. Never stop believing. This world is not lost yet. ♥

[sybillelegitime]

Great video! This reminded me of why I got tired of science fiction movies. All the "foreign worlds" look the same to me since they were created by people with very similar life experiences. A world of worlds is what we deserve

[UrdnotChuckles]

Speculative sci-fi writer reporting in! Couldn't agree with you more, what we do is activism more often than not, and we should all continue dreaming of better futures together. :)

[jinxshadow]

This topic plunged our Chatroom into an in depth discussion about the value of an idealized future. And also about dialectical materialism, because we’re nerds.

[madchiller]

How can one go through this whole video and comments and not see one mention of Star Trek? Unlike other big sci-fi franchises, it has always been the one that talked about a hopeful future. I mean it's not perfect but in genre of dystopia after dystopia it does stand out as what can be possible after humanity goes through a big struggle, comes together, fixes all of these problems we face and then takes to the stars.

[andrebetita]

"Dreams save us. Dreams lift us up and transform us into something better. And on my soul, I swear that until my dream of a world where dignity, honor and justice are the reality we all share, I'll never stop fighting."

- Superman. Action Comics # 775 (2001).

[ricopena]

Excellent video! All creation starts in imagination.

One side point: I don’t think we lost the divine right of kings, it just changed form. There are lots of world leaders and CEOs who have fanatic unyielding support. Plus most of our stories still use the chosen one formula, aka the right person will come along to solve the problems.

[UnicornzAndLolipopz]

I absolutely love the nebula group you've promoted. It's amazing to see creators coming to the same conclusions but in so many different ways!

[ecohumanism]

My utopia is: most adults are decent, kind to each other and reasonable, calm and patient, not afraid to be less than others, not condescending to others and not controlling, self-aware - fully grown inside individuals.
How we achieve it - by creating a new moral codex, uniting decent people who support it in the struggle for power. The should be no excuse for lies, abuse, double standards, hatred speach and suppression of our voices, I believe that more healthy society is the only way for more healthy people to grow.

And we need to be as close as we can to what we see as our future. Look at the Communist party of the Russian Dederation - a currupt organization comprised of rich enterpreneurs, with a dramatic imballance of power, where corrupt people hold their top positions despite showing zero efficiency, and people being punished for having their own opinion - what kind of "communism" can they bring about?

[dragonwukong]

yes. you are right. all the videos i have ever seen about fighting capitalism are made by white people for white people. as an indian, I too want to inspire younger generation of my country people, but we here dont have the same level of technology or even understanding of climate change in order to show them a world where we could escape capitalism. but people here only care about money and are willing sacrifice nature without giving a second thought. its difficult to capture the urgency at this current rate. i am not a youtuber, i dont have the exact knowledge about talking these things, i am afraid of backlash, and incomplete video essays. i am afraid to counter argument with people who are climate deniers. how can i educate and inspire ?

[elijahclaude]

I absolutely love that quote in the beginning!! That's exactly why I've been interested in designing tools that help everyday people visualize their ideas of the future in community with other folks' visions.

We need to make it far easier for many people to actually envision and build better futures together!!

[AndrewThoesen]

In the Whole Brain Child, they go into the neuroscience that makes storytelling so compelling. The short answer is that it forces the left and right side of the brain to both engage, helping them get back in sync. The logical progression of the structure engages your logical brain and the content engages your emotional brain.

It’s advice for toddlers to break tantrums but I’ve never stopped thinking about that.

[tiedietoast]

It's so refreshing to find content thats informative about the realistic complexities about all the possible solutions and ways we can change our worlds and societies for the better - its so hopeful.