What is solarpunk?  I was first introduced to this concept through interactions on the Zaibatsu.  I came away with mixed feelings about it.  And just recently I posted a Happy Earth Day message to the solarpunk board on the circumlunar.space bbs and the responses from other users reminded me of those mixed feelings.

My attempt at succinctly summarizing solarpunk is: An aspirational lifestyle or artistic style that envisions an ecologically and socially sustainable future made possible by a focus on renewable energy and clever applications of technology.  I like the aesthetics of this concept, as simple as it is.

And in many ways, the concept of Earth Day [1] seems to me like a good match for the solarpunk ethic.  Earth Day is more pragmatically focused on raising awareness of current environmentalism movements, and solarpunk is focused on what a successful future might look like.

But is solarpunk more than just aesthetics? Or is it just a literary and visual art style that yields no consequential action?

Some of the replies to my bbs post suggested that Earth Day may also be a superficial and inconsequential holiday that might even have the counterproductive effect of deluding people into thinking their actions are solving big problems.

I have to agree. My skepticism about solarpunk was equally that it makes people feel good because it appears to be about a better future, but that it in fact just diverts them away from real attempts to make a difference. And I can see the same criticisms about Earth Day.

But maybe raising awareness of this contradiction is a small bit of value.  Maybe it is best not to dwell on the purity of concepts like solarpunk or Earth Day, and instead to turn them into a conversation about "what are you *really* doing to make a difference?"

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Day