SolarpunkChat Summary: Winter Solarpunk Worldbuilding

Last month, we led the Twitter chat #SolarpunkChat, an initiative helmed by Upper Rubber Boot Books to discuss optimistic environmental science fiction. It's happening again on December 15, 2018, from 12-1 Eastern Time Zone, so please join this month's conversation! Just use the hashtag to participate in the chat.

November's discussion was about worldbuilding a solarpunk setting in winter. Check out some of the highlights from the chat below!

#solarpunkchat Q2: Let’s do some brainstorming! What is the setting for your #solarpunk or #ecopunk story or artwork? What is winter like there now, and what might it be like in the future?

— World Weaver Press (@WorldWeaver_wwp) November 17, 2018

#SolarpunkChat A2: I’m researching the subarctic-climate Inuvik region of (currently) Canada’s Northwest Territories, with special focus on Inuvik (on the Mackenzie River delta, below treeline in taiga / boreal forest, 56 days continuous sunlight in summer, 30 days of polar...

— Deb Merriam (@DebMerriam) November 17, 2018

My current solarpunk mileu consists of a number of Cascadia cities, but mostly Spokane and Lakewood, which are near the Krasnikov tube anchor points at Fairchild and McChord. Spokane today has cold winters and is seasonally dry. Lakewood has mild winters and is seasonally wet. https://t.co/cos08bw1Cz

— Brian McNett (@b_mcnett) November 17, 2018

#solarpunkchat #A2: Our setting is always Milano, as usual. It's expected that winter precipitations will increase (and be increasingly erratic), and that we might have more extreme snow. https://t.co/eDgqrNDHsI

— Tales from The EV Studio (@talesfromtheev) November 17, 2018

#solarpunkchat Q2: I find it really interesting that climate change may actually make winter *worse* in some locations, because of lake effect or weakening of the polar vortex. https://t.co/Mcbi61Va1M

— Sarena Ulibarri (@sarenaulibarri) November 17, 2018

#solarpunkchat Q3: What tools and technologies do people currently use to adapt to winter in your setting? What solarpunk-style tech or architecture could they use in the future?

— World Weaver Press (@WorldWeaver_wwp) November 17, 2018

#SolarpunkChat A3 ...temperatures or well-insulated; geodesic domes with removable insulating covers; greenhouses incorporated into or covering buildings (naturhuset-style or top-floor glasshouse); net-zero adapted for polar night & permafrost protection; ...

— Deb Merriam (@DebMerriam) November 17, 2018

#solarpunkchat A3: lots of wind in the UK, it could be a powerful source of energy, especially if its "collection" would be spreaded among the population.

— Commando Jugendstil (@CJugendstil) November 17, 2018

Also, consider this house built in Switzerland https://t.co/8cDFDgonDX

— Tales from The EV Studio (@talesfromtheev) November 17, 2018

#solarpunkchat #A3: at the moment energy and thermal solar and energy efficient building techniques are what's available, but we're thinking of geothermal (not in Milano because it's quite literally built on sand), mini-hydroelectrics (so many rivers!) (1/)

— Tales from The EV Studio (@talesfromtheev) November 17, 2018

#solarpunkchat Q4: Let’s talk fashion! Solarpunk fashion is usually summer-focused: light, flowy fabrics, parasols, flower or feather patterns. But what would solarpunk winter fashion look like? What are some environmentally-friendly textiles that can keep you warm + stylish?

— World Weaver Press (@WorldWeaver_wwp) November 17, 2018

Mushroom leather is an interesting one. If we can manufacture it from a common enough source, say Fomitopsis pinicola (conifer root rot or the "red belted conk") growing forests becomes the source of your clothing and NOT CUTTING DOWN THE TREES is how you obtain it.

— Brian McNett (@b_mcnett) November 17, 2018

#solarpunkchat A4: In @CarbonCoastBook and my #polarpunk short story Apex Thaw, most of the cold wintry areas are occupied by #lunarpunk people, who have been trading with ocean-dwelling #tidalpunk people's clothing to stay warm, made from recycled/woven ocean waste plastics

— Connor Carbon (@ConnorCarbon) November 18, 2018

A4 #polarpunk #solarpunkchat: probably the most sustainable thing in the near-term is to reuse/repurpose fabrics that have already been produced. I'd love to see fashion from discards/goodwill items. Maybe jackets made like those colorful crazy-quilts that are made of scraps.

— Upper Rubber Boot (@upperrubberboot) November 17, 2018

#solarpunkchat A4: what about crazy jumpsuits made with the same fabric used for thermal blankets? They'd be overly shiny and possibly kick in some '70s space age nostalgia

— Commando Jugendstil (@CJugendstil) November 17, 2018

#solarpunkchat Q5: How will the altered winter climate and living conditions affect your setting’s culture, religion, festivals, day-to-day rhythms, artwork?

— World Weaver Press (@WorldWeaver_wwp) November 17, 2018

#SolarpunkChat A5 ...There will be loss of species and changes in migration routes affecting traditional food sources, so, more greenhouse-based agriculture. Hopefully multiculturalism will be seen as beneficial, retention of cultural heritage encouraged, extremism discouraged.

— Deb Merriam (@DebMerriam) November 17, 2018

#solarpunkchat A5: #writingprompt idea: organizing a city-wide, multi-faith winter festival that incorporates many different traditions. Something somewhat similar to this is presented in quasi-solarpunk novel THE FIFTH SACRED THING, https://t.co/SQQY6BTJi7

— Sarena Ulibarri (@sarenaulibarri) November 17, 2018

#solarpunkchat A5: In my #solarpunk winter short story Apex Thaw, the biting cold at the Apex facility as well as the nearby #lunarpunk desert towns causes residents to live close, share everything possible, live slowly, grow crops indoors with purple lighting, & be sustainable!

— Connor Carbon (@ConnorCarbon) November 18, 2018

#solarpunkchat Q6: What kinds of conflicts tend to arise in winter settings, and how can solarpunk-style technology and/or values affect how your characters handle those conflicts?

— World Weaver Press (@WorldWeaver_wwp) November 17, 2018

#solarpunkchat #A6 (2/): Also, bad people don't stop being bad in winter. Walloping your local fascist never goes out of fashion #fasciocchioalcranio

— Tales from The EV Studio (@talesfromtheev) November 17, 2018

#solarpunkchat #polarpunk conflict-sources A6: Don’t underestimate the role of seasonal affective disorder if the setting has very shortened days.

— Upper Rubber Boot (@upperrubberboot) November 17, 2018

#solarpunkchat A6: with unforgiving climate conditions we see transportation - both of people and goods - as an area where a lot of problems could raise.

— Commando Jugendstil (@CJugendstil) November 17, 2018

We'll be sticking around for a while longer, so feel free to as well, but our official hour for #solarpunkchat is nearing its end.
So:
Q7. Shameless self-promotion time! Link us to your work!

— World Weaver Press (@WorldWeaver_wwp) November 17, 2018

#solarpunkchat A7: and we designed the cover for @RevistaMamut vol.6 Eco-Logos, always in collaboration with @talesfromtheev https://t.co/46EnmNgy11

— Commando Jugendstil (@CJugendstil) November 17, 2018

A7 self-promo #solarpunkchat: Sunvault is available:
*Indiebound (US) https://t.co/gqlyIdIoDE
*Book Depository (free worldwide shipping) https://t.co/Atsnxmap9Z
*Bookstores ordering from Ingram (partial list here: https://t.co/UWNAtGi07J)
*Amazon https://t.co/aYNFrRWUHj

— Upper Rubber Boot (@upperrubberboot) November 17, 2018

#SolarpunkChat A7: If you're on Pinterest, please visit the frequently-updated group pinboard I do with @upperrubberboot: https://t.co/iIFw1fzkkf

— Deb Merriam (@DebMerriam) November 17, 2018

#solarpunkchat A7: For more solarpunk winter aesthetics & inspiration visit https://t.co/9rk7F5Jkgy (blog)! My winter #solarpunk (& #lunarpunk) story of the same name (#ApexThaw) will be finished sometime this winter, w/ updates posted to the Apex Thaw blog! Follow it? #polarpunk

— Connor Carbon (@ConnorCarbon) November 18, 2018

Are you writing a solarpunk story set in winter? That's what we'll be looking for with our next anthology, GLASS AND GARDENS: SOLARPUNK WINTERS! Submissions open January 1, 2019 to March 1, 2019. See the full guidelines here: Opening for Submissions Soon: Solarpunk Winters

Looking for some solarpunk stories to read? Check out GLASS AND GARDENS: SOLARPUNK SUMMERS and SOLARPUNK: ECOLOGICAL AND FANTASTICAL STORIES IN A SUSTAINABLE WORLD.