Kickoff: Afterglow: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors
it's the future of the Earth
Passive houses
Insulation
Green roots
Peashoots
Transportation
Air is clean
We green the nation
Natural borders
Land formations
Animal crossings
Bird migration
Glass and metal sanitation
Resilient towards all climate changes
Humans fight for long duration
It's the future of the Earth
Communities, eco cities, make it work
Full health, life thrives, give birth
To the solutions of the future of the Earth
Future of the Earth by Hila the Earth
Schedule
These are the dates the discussion posts will go up, but remember you can go at your own pace and contribute when you’re ready!
Kick-off: August 4, 2023✓Midway Check In: August 18, 2023
Final Discussion: September 1, 2023 at 5PM PST 🌱
You can RSVP for the Digital Hang here - This means you get an email with the link to join on the day of and gives me a good idea of how many folks to expect!
If you can’t make it to the digital hang, you can always use the comment section to leave your thoughts, reviews, and reflections at any time.
Solar + Punk
A couple of years ago a friend of mine decided to participate in NaNoWriMo. I remember I was really intrigued by the premise of his future novel. Something happened on Earth that caused all of the people to flee into space. Over a series of generations they lost track of original Earth’s location but eventually felt the need to return. When the current generation made its way back, they did not find the planet devoid of human life. Instead they discover that some folks never left. They somehow managed to avoid the exodus and made this new version of Earth their home. Drama and intrigue ensued. There was also a cool robot. That’s all I can remember. (Sorry for butchering your plot, Alex!)
He never finished it unfortunately, but the premise always stayed me. Why did those people decide to stay? How did they survive whatever had gone on with Earth? How did their society change after time? How did they take the spacefaring generation’s return?
I bring this up because when I started reading our pick Afterglow: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors, I decided I wanted to dig a little deeper into what climate fiction was, specifically solarpunk— and their role in our ability to see our own future.
I realized that my friend’s story could have easily fit into the category. For some people in his story the changes on Earth represented the end, for others it represented the beginning of something new. They built a new life out of the climactic disaster. That sounded pretty solarpunk to me. 🌱
Climate fiction, or cli-fi, is a genre of science or speculative fiction that explores the potential, drastic consequences of climate change. This can happen in any setting, realistic of fictional. Think Game of Thrones’s “Winter is coming.” More and more often, the most important themes are all about Earth, examining the impact of pollution, rising sea levels, and global warming on human civilization.
However, there’s a different between Game of Thrones vibe and Afterglow’s approach to climate fiction.
According to Wikipedia Solarpunk is:
a literary and artistic movement that envisions and works toward actualizing a sustainable future interconnected with nature and community. The "solar" represents solar energy as a renewable energy source and an optimistic vision of the future that rejects climate doomerism, while the "punk" refers to the countercultural, post-capitalist, and decolonial enthusiasm for creating such a future.
I felt like I understood that definition but I had to ask how exactly is solarpunk.. punk? When I think punk I think of rage, anger against the establishment, and fighting back tooth and nail. I’m not thinking of utopias and solar panels. What was I missing? This piece at The Conversation that expanded on this precise question for me.
from Explainer: ‘solarpunk’, or how to be an optimistic radical
…. Solarpunks resist the present by imagining a future that requires radical societal change. Radical, perhaps, but not radically impossible. Indeed, many of the technologies and practices that solarpunks draw into their imaginings already exist: solar and other renewable energy, urban agriculture, or organic architecture and design. Like sci-fi authors, solarpunks remix the present to produce an alternative future.
The way I understand it, keeping hope alive is the most punk thing you can do in these times of climate crisis.
from What Is Solarpunk? A Guide to the Environmental Art Movement.
While not as widely recognized in media as cyberpunk, solarpunk in fiction has acted as significant groundwork for solarpunk as a movement. Because the climate anxiety that solarpunk engages in is so palpable in the real world, it considers how technology, sustainable agriculture and reoriented social and economic systems might help communities grapple with a world besieged by climate threats.
Can climate fiction and solarpunk save the world? Hard to say. As with anything there are several sides to the argument. Circling back to The Atlantic article, Climate Fiction: Can Books Save the Planet? On one side you have those that say “placing climate change in a fictional context might reduce the urgency readers feel about the issue in reality, or simply reduce it to a vague concern with no practical remedy.” Then you have others who say “Stories can never be a solution in themselves, but they have the capacity to inspire action, which is perhaps why cli-fi’s appeal among young adult readers holds such promise.”
There is a lot of information; articles, think-pieces, critiques about solarpunk and climate fiction. It is a very trendy genre right now. You can check out the places I’ve linked here or do your own homework and see how you feel about it. You could even check out the CliFi Report Global.
If you’re looking for some video content on the practical side of solarpunk, I highly suggest checking out the videos by Andrewism.
He’s got a whole playlist on YouTube on the subject and a convo with Pop Culture Detective.
There is also this wonderful podcast episode with the Human Restoration Project titled From Colonial to Solarpunk Education.
The Future of the Earth
Speaking of listening to things, we’ve been looking at art that has protecting the climate and thus protecting ourselves from imminent doom so here’s a little more. This TikTok made the rounds on my corner of the Internet. When I knew we’d be reading Afterglow I wanted to include one of Hila’s songs in the newsletter.
Formerly known as Hila the Killa, Hila the Earth is an eco rapper, comedian and educator who thinks it’s important to infuse fun and entertainment into climate activism. In this feature in Mission Mag she says:
“I want a society where the daily motivation for people is caring for their community. I hope all over the globe we can come together and truly support each other as human beings on this planet.”
And honestly? Same.
Climate change is serious but there are creators making art that is important, educational, and hilarious which some might say could be the perfect recipe for inspiring someone into climate action. Some of them are doing it through the hopeful stories in Afterglow. Some of them are rapping about our Wet Ass Planet.
Tomato, tomato.
Welcome to the Kickoff 📖 Afterglow: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors
These are simply questions to get you thinking. You’re not required to answer any of them to participate. Remember to keep comments and replies respectful and hate-free!
General
Are you planning on reading along this month?
What do you think of the cover, title, description?
Have you read anything by these authors before?
What are you hoping to see in this particular collection?
Solarpunk & Climate Fiction
How do you feel about climate fiction as a genre?
Do you think that cli-fi and solarpunk visions actually inspire climate action or solutions?
Do you think that we could live in a solarpunk future? Would you like to?
If you were to create solarpunk art, what would it look like? Stories, paintings, music?
If you already do, make sure to drop that in the comments or in the subscriber chat along with anything else you want to add! Oh hey, and before you go don’t forget to like this post! ♥
See you at the midway check in ;)
Hi, all! I’m reading along this month and excited to crack down and start making my way through this book. The cover is beautiful and caught my attention right away. I read the description and was excited to notice that there are Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, disabled, feminist, and queer voices in the collection. I haven’t read anything by these authors before, but am hoping to find stories that are action-packed and thought provoking.
The climate fiction genre is really intriguing to me because there is no denying what is happening to our planet. The news and social media can be overwhelming at times, but envisioning what the future can be like must give others hope in these very meh times. If I live long enough to see a solarpunk future I think it’ll be better than the moment we live in now where our leaders aren’t leading!
I imagine solarpunk art involving music that has some beats that are sounds from different planets, ha! I could see myself creating a fun project involving slime and/or clay.
Amanda :)