“Be Realistic, Demand the Impossible!” was the motto of the general strike and student protests of May 1968 in Paris. The first anti-consumerist punks were born around that time, and arguably the movement sparked the first ideas for Solarpunk.

Today in 2068, I can’t help but think that the protesters of 1968 were the pathfinders for my generation’s salvation on this planet. Years after the 1968 protests, my forefathers — Solarpunks — imagined the impossible and saved humanity.

Before Solarpunk

In 1968 workers had to roar in outrage, go out onto the streets, and demand higher wages for jobs that would eventually cause the biggest ecological crisis experienced in history. Back then, people didn’t know the future consequences of the massive production of consumer goods and subsequent extreme consumerism.

People were happy about “economic booms” because that meant they could consume more. Little did they know, economic boom translated into ecological doom.

And when they did realize, somewhere in the 2000s, how capitalism erodes all that is living, it was almost too late. The capitalist state still tried to promote “green growth” for another 30 years; greedy capitalism tried to wear an ecological face.

The early Solarpunks

The early Solarpunks lived in polluted, unsustainable, consumption-driven cities. They always laid low on the political and environmental radar. Instead, they created solar oases in their homes and nurtured a budding Solarpunk lifestyle for future generations.

They formed communities through the social network Scuttlebutt, where they exchanged ideas on ways to live a Solarpunk life. This social media platform was “alternative” back then because it was decentralized, private, and encrypted. My parents learned about the Solarpunk lifestyle there.

Despite having small living spaces, early Solarpunks housed many plants in their homes. They cultivated gardens indoors and started micro-farms outdoors. They also boycotted straws, plastic tubes used to slurp drinks, and converted their plastic waste with a 3D printer. Back in 2018, this was not the norm; society believed that such a lifestyle was too time-consuming.