Sprig

Hello, everyone! 👋 I'm Blair, and someday I want to write a solarpunk story. Sadly, I am juggling many projects at the moment and won't be able to get to writing this one for a long time, so for now I will just share anything that inspires me. I hope it helps someone. 🙂

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📌Pinned Post: Blog Categories

Categories:

⚡ Energy Generation and Supplying

Solar

Wind

Hydro

Energy Storage

Kinetic

Bio-Energy

Other

🍅 Food and Water

Food

Water

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🚂 Transportation

Trains

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🩺 Medicine and Healthcare

Prosthetics/Movement Aids

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🏙️ Buildings and Cities

Heating Buildings

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Better Buildings

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🍃Working With Nature:

Robots

Nature-Friendly Building

Nature-Friendly Cultural Solutions

Other:

Green Alternatives and Solutions

🧭 World Building Ideas

🎨Solarpunk Art: Exactly what it sounds like.

Resources and DIY: DIY robotics, free resources, and more

Solarpunk Basics: All about Solarpunk

[cognitivejustice]

Traditional building practices offer sustainable solutions as African cities grow

Following the release of the Buildings Global Status Report 2022, we examine how sustainable building practices could help Africa cope with

Research shows that these techniques can help prevent the need for air conditioning, the long-range transport of building materials and concrete production, all of which contribute to the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions driving the climate crisis.

[reasonsforhope]

"With 70 per cent of Africa's building stock that will exist in 2040 still to be constructed, experts say these energy-saving techniques are crucial.

"Traditional sustainable construction and building practices are a cornerstone of African cultural heritage,” says Jonathan Duwyn, from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). “Locally adapted sustainable design, construction, practices, and materials coupled with renewables and innovation represent a great opportunity for both mitigation and resilience in Africa’s rapidly growing building stock." ...

Africa accounts for roughly 6 per cent of global energy demand, with more than half of this coming from its buildings. Given that Africa’s population is expected to reach 2.4 billion people by 2050, with 80 per cent of this growth occurring in cities, sustainability needs to be a core principle of all future buildings, say experts.

These solutions are highlighted in UNEP’s 2022 Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction, launched at the UN Climate Conference (COP27) in Egypt. The report focused on how Africa can manage this urban growth and increase the resilience of its housing stock while avoiding an increase in GHG emissions.

Inspiration for climate-resilient building can be found throughout African history. Travel through Africa today, and hints of its past can be found everywhere, from Eswatini’s beehive huts to the Drogon cliff villages of Mali to the mud-brick mosques of West Africa.

“Africa is rich in renewable energy sources, solar and wind, with nearly half of the planet’s total renewable energy potential,” Duwyn says. 

This is particularly important given the projected demand for air conditioning units as more people get access to electricity and temperatures rise. “We expect cooling to be a major challenge when it comes to residential energy demand in Africa in the future, says Duwyn. “This is why it is so important to ensure new buildings use natural cooling systems wherever possible.”"

-via UN Environment Programme, May 28, 2024

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One of my other accounts where I just post writing advice was terminated without warning or reason. I have no way to tell the followers I lost on there what happened, so that really made me want to tell you all where else you can find me.

Website

Mastodon

slrpnk.net ⬅ I think a lot of my followers on here will love this site. It's a Solarpunk forum. I didn't create it or anything, but I do post on there.

I'm not going to lie, I am completely baffled. On that account, I literally just posted writing advice directed at fantasy writers (mostly in regards to world building), so I can't think of anything I could have done wrong.

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”In 4 years, US power grid increased battery storage to the equivalent of 20 nuclear reactors”

According to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), more than 20 gigawatts (GW) of battery capacity have been added to the US electric grid in the last four years. This rapid expansion is equivalent to the production of 20 nuclear reactors and is crucial for averting power disruptions, especially in states that rely significantly on intermittent renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.

In 4 years, US power grid increased battery storage to the equivalent of 20 nuclear reactors | The Optimist Daily

Massive battery deployment stabilizes America's electrical infrastructure, allowing for renewable energy growth and preventing blackouts.

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“Robot weed killers could create a sustainable future for agriculture” 🤖

Herbicides have a long history of negative consequences. Glyphosate and paraquat, among other pollutants, are extremely harmful to human health and the environment. These pollutants impair soil quality and destroy beneficial organisms such as pollinators. Furthermore, the widespread use of herbicides has resulted in weed resistance, making chemical management less effective.

Kenny Lee, co-founder and CEO of Aigen Robotics, is personally committed to reducing pesticide use. Lee, a glyphosate-related non-Hodgkin lymphoma survivor, has collected $19 million for his startup to produce solar-powered weeding robots. “We’re on a personal mission,” Lee says, emphasizing their dedication to sustainable agriculture.

Robot weed killers could create a sustainable future for agriculture | The Optimist Daily

How autonomous technology can revolutionize agriculture.

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The Homes with Two Front Doors 🚪🚪

Have you ever wondered why so many large chain stores have two sets of doors? No, it is not just to store shopping carts.

Where I live, any home that is around 100 years old (that hasn't seen any renovations) will very likely have two front doors. Putting it simply, you open one door, step into a small space, and there will be another door in front of you.

(Image Sources: Image 1 | Image 2)

The space goes by many names, including: arctic entry, mud room, breeze room, vestibule, airlock, foyer, and more. For sake of simplicity, I am going to call them "entry vestibules."

Entry vestibules create a buffer between the outside and the inside of the building, preventing drafts. This can help greatly with temperature regulation in both the winter cold and summer heat. I can't find number details on energy saving, but the fact that large chains still build them may hint of their importance for money-saving.

In homes, this space also typically serves as the mud room ( a place for shoes and jackets).

In the name of “first impressions,” and open concept designs, vestibules are often the first thing to go during renovations, and I think that’s a real shame.

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“City Experiments with Reusable Cups at Starbucks, Taco Bell and 30 Other Restaurants–with Return Bins all over town”

Around 50 billion disposable drink cups are used every year in the US, but in the city of Petaluma, we will see if Americans have the discipline to reduce this footprint.

The city numbers around 60,000 people, and will participate in the Reuseable Cup Project. The aim is to furnish 30 local restaurants, from Starbucks to Taco Bell, with identical, durable, plastic drink cups, which customers and diners can use and then either leave on the table, or deposit in a network of dropoff bins around the city.

City Experiments with Reusable Cups at Starbucks, Taco Bell and 30 Other Restaurants–with Return Bins all over town

The aim is to furnish 30 local restaurants, from Starbucks to Taco Bell, with identical, durable, plastic drink cups diners can return.

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“Man Builds an Electricity-Generating Windmill in His Own Garden”

To ensure his plans were based on historic originals, Gareth purchased over 1,700 survey drawings of the Bourn Windmill in Cambridgeshire, approximated the measurements, and then reconstructed a quarter-size copy in his garden.

Gareth relied on his skills and education as a classical boat builder at the Falmouth Marine School, which also serves him at his day job repairing furniture. The windmill is built mainly of green oak and can rotate to be directed at the wind. He sewed the sails himself from a curtain he bought in a thrift store.

The mill’s generator produces 100 amps at 12 volts when spinning at its optimum speed.

Man Builds an Electricity-Generating Windmill in His Own Garden

To ensure his plans were based on historic originals, Gareth purchased over 1,700 survey drawings of the Bourn Windmill in Cambridgeshire,

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"Beware the Rise of Superweeds: Mowing’s Unintended Consequences"

“Findings in both studies showed that the more silverleaf nightshade was mowed, the more it developed ways to avoid destruction, Kariyat said. The taproot went down further, nearly 5 feet deep, in the first generation of mowed plants. More spikes popped out on the stem as a defense against caterpillars feeding on the flowers. The flowers became more toxic to caterpillars, leading to less pressure from natural predators.”

Beware the Rise of Superweeds: Mowing’s Unintended Consequences

Research indicates that frequent mowing of Solanum elaeagnifolium enhances its defensive traits, making it more resilient and potentially a

[plantyhamchuk]

Greenhouse made of recycled glass bottles

It will be extremely interesting to see how well this works, and how well it ages. It is made from recycled glass bottles collected from the community, including used and cleaned out nail polish bottles from salons and clear gorilla glue. How much heat it will actually retain, and how hard it will be to keep the clear jars clean of dirt and dead bugs remains to be seen.

Location: just outside of Seattle, Washington

Source

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”Mushrooms Help Turn Toxic Brownfields into Blooming Meadows” 🍄

Mushrooms growing at a brownfield site in Los Angeles – credit Danielle Stevenson

“Noting that she had read studies about mushrooms growing around the Chernobyl nuclear plant, she came to understand further, through her work, that fungi are an extraordinarily resilient species of life that consume carbon, and even though petroleum products are toxic to plants, to mushrooms they are essentially a kind of carbon.

In fact, mushrooms break down several categories of toxic waste with the same enzymes they use to consume a dead tree. They can also eat plastic and other things made out of oil, like agrochemicals.”

Mushrooms Help Turn Toxic Brownfields into Blooming Meadows

A brownfield could be an old railway yard or the grounds of an abandoned oil refinery, but the uniting factor is a toxic containment.

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“Awnings: a simple cooling tech we apparently forgot about” 🪟

This video talks about how window awnings can greatly help cool your home.

Another thing I want to add is that window awnings can protect windows. We get pretty big hail here, and (wood or aluminum) awnings can save your window glass.

I have also heard of “Clamshell Awnings” which are on hinges, so you can remove the poles and lower the awning to cover and protect windows in extreme weather.

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Your Houseplants Can Think with Zoë Schlanger 🌿🧠

“Our understanding of intelligence is always growing, but recent research has thrown a fascinating curveball: we're discovering that plants are intelligent too. Though they might not look like creatures we typically describe as intelligent, plants can store information, solve problems, and develop complex social networks. This week, Adam sits with Zoë Shlanger, author of The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth, to explore this galaxy-brain concept of plant intelligence and what it means for how we see all life and our place in the world. Find Zoë's book at factuallypod.com/books”

If this science interests you, I also suggest the book “The Hidden Life of Trees,” by Peter Wohlleben, as well as these videos:

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Ink, Dye, and Paint From Nature 🌸🌿🖌️🎨

Images: source 1 | Source 2

If you need a new hobby, the next time you are in your garden or somewhere foraging is legal(or right from your kitchen scraps), browse around for some natural pigments.

With a little work, you can make your own dye, ink, and watercolour paints.

Liquid Ink/Dye/Watercolour Paint

With ratios from This Link.

Boil: Put your plant into a pot with water(1 cup plants to 2 cups water) with a dash of salt and 1tsp vinegar. Simmer for 1-2h while occasionally stirring.

Test and Experiment: Using strips of paper, periodically dip to see how you are progressing. If it isn’t satisfactory, keep boiling. Experiment with adding salt or water to adjust the levels until you get a pigment you like.

Stain: Strain your mixture then filter out any solids with a coffee filter or cheese cloth.

Binders: To bind your ink, use gum arabic(1 part to 10 parts ink).

Preserving: To preserve your ink, put a whole clove before sealing the jar. Consider storing in the fridge.

Powdered Pigments:

Powdered pigments can also be made from earth or crushed rocks, but here are the direction specifically for plants.

Dry: Hang dry your plants, or put them in a dehydrator, or spread them out on a pan in the sun to dry them out completely.

Grind: Using a mortar and pestle, grind the plants into a fine powder. Wearing a mask is recommended when dealing with any sort of fine powders you could breathe in.

Binder: Mix in a binder agent(such as gum arabic) and use with a little water.

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“How To Make Clay At Home”

“Making clay is not that hard. Not too long ago it was part of most potters jobs to dig and process all the clay they used. Yet today it is almost a lost art. In this video I show you 3 methods for making clay at home, simply and easily.”

Is This Wild Clay Any Good? How To Test Samples

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“Is This Rooftop Turbine the Future of Energy… or an Old Idea?”

“A new shrouded wind turbine, the Ventum Dynamics VX175, just hit the market in February. What makes the VX175 so different is the lantern-like structure wrapped around the body: a shroud. Shrouds are anything but a novel idea. Researchers have experimented with amplifying a turbine’s power output by covering the rotor for centuries, like Erasmus Darwin’s turbine. How much of this new rooftop wind turbine is a new idea vs. a rehash of a much older one? And what kind of impact can it have on the future of energy?”

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Revolutionary New ‘Living Plastic’ That Could Slash Damage to the Environment

“Scientists believe they’ve found a way to make plastics more durable and biodegradable by adding bacterial spores that have been put through evolutionary rigors.

This kind of “living plastic” can break down in about five months without the necessary addition of any other microbes.

Researchers led by scientists at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) created this living plastic in the form of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), a soft but durable commercial plastic used in footwear, floor mats, cushions, and memory foam.”

Revolutionary New ‘Living Plastic’ That Could Slash Damage to the Environment Developed by California Researchers

The team created this living plastic in the form of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), a soft but durable commercial plastic used in footwear