I don't particularly agree with that, as it would essentially require exponential change in biases for a population to be considered open-minded, which isn't how societys work. But even so, the study did actually show an increased rate of change towards positive sentiment corresponding with the boom in travel. Perceptions shifted from trending negative to trending increasingly positive during the period of inflection they describe.
My perception of the COVID years was... quite the opposite, at least outside of my immediate bubble. It felt like polarization and isolation increased more intensely that I'd ever seen. And the strong negative impact on conservative-leaning populations has been well documented.
Oh man, idk how I've missed that one, but it just shot to the top of my list
I did not know until this very moment how deeply I wanted to build a beaver society 😂
I mean, I very much get how it feels that way given the current political climate, but the data does indicate Americans have gotten more open-minded over time, especially about racial/cultural differences.
And this study specifically notes a huge shift in rhetoric about immigration between 1945-1965 - correlating with the big boom in travel in the 40s, post WWII, and jet travel coming into play in the 50s-60s - two of the biggest increases in American travel. And the overall trend positive has continued, despite the increased polarization in the last couple decades.
I'm not at all saying that increased travel caused all of this, correlation is not causation and society is way more complex than that. But the trends are there, at least.
Personally, I rather prefer Maya Angelou's take-
"Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends."
Travel is not some magical, all-powerful cure for the ills of the traveller or the world. And when done without care, without awareness, it can do a great deal of harm. But it is also a powerful tool to foster connection, which in turn breeds understanding. And that is dearly needed in our world.
Ooh cool - it feels like subnautica but in the sky, which is certainly promising
It's the season for steam's summer sale, so here's some solarpunk-y games I've been eyeing, for anyone who's looking for something new to try this summer! (I haven't played most of these, they are just things that I've seen around that give me solarpunk vibes.)
- Terra Nil : an intricate environmental strategy game about transforming a barren wasteland into a thriving, balanced ecosystem.
- Pan'orama : a relaxing puzzle simulation game that allows you to create breathtaking landscapes using different types of tiles.
- Summer in Mara : a summer adventure with farming, crafting, and exploring mechanics set in an alien tropical archipelago.
- No Place Like Home : a cute and relaxing farm sim where you restore the environment around you.
- Cloud Gardens : a chill game about using plants to overgrow abandoned wasteland dioramas.
- Station to Station : a minimalist & relaxing game about building railway connections across a beautiful landscape.
Bonus, Games in Early Access:
- The Wandering Village : a city-building simulation game on the back of a giant, wandering creature.
- Coral Island : a vibrant and laid-back re-imagining of farm sim games, set on a beautiful island you must work to restore alongside the local community.
- World Turtles : a wholesome colony builder with the primary goal of sustainability, all set on the backs of giant space turtles.
- Diluvian Winds : a community management game set in a small hamlet at the foot of a lighthouse.
Got any other recommendations?
New innovative sail device can be used as a modification for rigid sails or used as a stand-alone energy saving device.
![Eco Marine Power Develops New Sail Device for Ships | Science & Tech | News](https://slrpnk.net/pictrs/image/8be44675-4393-45d3-8b66-8c6f8f604267.jpeg?format=webp&thumbnail=256)
Nice, I was really hoping someone would start a lunarpunk community!
A new coral reef conservation tool has been developed by University of Hawai‘i at Manoa researchers using cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) technology. By developing novel deep learning algorithms, coral ecologists in the UH Manoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) are ...
![New AI reef conservation tool monitors, measures from space - West Hawaii Today](https://slrpnk.net/pictrs/image/f6202121-570b-412c-85eb-1feb9f10c54a.jpeg?format=webp&thumbnail=256)
Love it, but it has pretty niche utility.
It's great for improving frest fruit/vegetable access in small urban communities, without massive transportation costs and preservative use.
Also very cool for small, isolated environments like ocean voyages and space, where production space is severely limited.
And extremely interesting from an ecological perspective when combined with a full circle microsystem, as in aquaculture.
But overall, it remains wildly inefficient for large scale agriculture needs.
Mahmoud Hayek, Marie Salgues, Jean-Claude Souche, Klaartje De Weerdt, Sylvain Pioch, How to Improve the Bioreceptivity of Concrete Infrastructure Used in Marine Ecosystems? Literature Review for Mechanisms, Key Factors, and Colonization Effects, Journal of Coastal Research, Vol. 39, No. 3 (May 2023)...
Really interesting study from the Journal of Coastal Research - I think work like this is a massively useful transition strategy. There's a lot of benefits to blending economic practicality (construction methods that remain feasible for local governments and small community or private groups), and ecologically minded design (features that improve a project's impact on local ecology)
TX lawmakers are going to doom the state, again. "make no mistake, the 9th largest economy in the world runs on natural gas" - more like the largest laughing stock in the world blacked out the whole state on natural gas...
Wind was hit far less by the 2021 freeze, and solar was hardly impacted at all. Meanwhile, they continue to advocate for overreliance on under equipped natural gas facilities that completely failed to maintain functionality - shutting down TX for days, and killing 200 people as a result. Solar is the best option they have to prevent it from happening again, short of a total power grid overhaul, but instead of celebrating growth there, they decide to fearmonger about scary renewables.
The 114th and final wind turbine was installed recently at Seagreen Wind Farm. A joint venture between SSE Renewables and TotalEnergies, Seagreen is located about 17 miles of Scotland’s Angus coast.
![GB-SCT - Scotland’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm Gains Final Turbine](https://slrpnk.net/pictrs/image/7d4c42de-a349-42ec-9960-d7f001b07e0a.jpeg?format=webp&thumbnail=256)
This is also the site of the deepest wind turbine foundation in the world. It will be interesting to see the data on this one from ongoing studies into the impact of offshore wind farms on marine ecosystems!
The UN’s 193 Member States adopted a landmark legally binding marine biodiversity agreement on Monday following nearly two decades of fierce negotiations over forging a common wave of conservation and sustainability in the high seas beyond national boundaries – covering two thirds of the planet’s oc...
![Beyond borders: Why new 'high seas' treaty is critical for the world](https://slrpnk.net/pictrs/image/0a64f269-d3a4-4b87-b811-dca330b69bb8.jpeg?format=webp&thumbnail=256)
Welcome to c/tidalpunk, a community dedicated to imagining and building a better future for our oceans and marine environments!
Tidalpunk is a sub-genre of Solarpunk, one which applies the themes of sustainable technology, conservation, accessibility, and community action to our global oceans and other waters.
Oceans are a crucial part of our planet's health, and so their preservation is crucial for our planet's future wellbeing. This is a space to celebrate efforts to protect and support marine systems, discuss emerging sustainable aquatic tech, share new oceanic discoveries, and post ideas about what a tidalpunk future may look like.
Personally, as it currently stands, no. But it could potentially be, given better waste treatment practices and far better regulation and consistently enforced safety requirements.
It's far greener than fossil fuels, when run carefully at least. But between the persistent issues with waste reclamation and harmful leakage, and the massive amount of damage that can be done when mistakes are made or safety is overlooked, I don't think it qualifies as "green".
So from a practical standpoint, I still think new resources are better spent developing infrastructure for solar, wind, geothermal, etc. But as we are phasing out other power sources, pretty much everything else should go before we start to decommission nuclear.
Always nice to see Braiding Sweet grass referenced. And to see Anmism treated with respect. It pairs so beautifully with a solarpunk mentality - each enhances the other.
On June 24th Art, Activism and Research collide for the first ever virtual Solarpunk Conference. With the theme: From Imagination To Action.
![Home | Solarpunk Conference | From Imagination To Action](https://slrpnk.net/pictrs/image/8aac5a33-a68e-4c9a-b391-a44b3c37eab7.png?format=webp&thumbnail=256)
For any who missed it - there's a solarpunk conference being held this Saturday, starting 8:30MST. Their agenda has speakers on everything from art and writing to hydroponics and hacktivism. Today's the last day to grab tickets if you want to attend!
Tidalpunk is my new favorite solarpunk subgenre. That's a brilliant aquaculture setup
Don't get me wrong, buying time to stall ecological collapse is better than doing nothing, but it's so frustratingly backwards when it becomes the priority over addressing the issues that are causing that collapse in the first place.