Solarpunk Presents - Libraries: A Community Endeavor, With Don Gardner

Libraries: A Community Endeavor, With Don Gardner

01/29/23 • 39 min

Is there anything more solarpunk than public libraries? Serving at the heart of communities, they’re a place where anyone regardless of income, ability, race, class, or gender can go to read books, listen to music, use the internet, learn things, hear story hour, get out of the weather for a while, and ask librarians for information on just about anything, including what organizations to turn to for additional support in your life or endeavor. In Episode 2 of Season 2 of Solarpunk Presents, Christina talks to Don Gardner, a librarian for many years for the Salinas Public Libraries in Monterey County, California. Hear about how people rescued the library after the city council tried to close it down to save money, about what libraries can do for you and your community, and about what you can do for your local library.

Check out Salinas Public Libraries at https://salinaspubliclibrary.org/ and connect with them @salinaslibrary on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, or @salinaspubliclibrary on Instagram and TikTok.

Connect with Solarpunk Presents Podcast on Mastodon @solarpunkpresents @climatejustice .rocks, or at our blog https://solarpunkpresents.com/

Connect with Ariel at her blog and on Mastodon @[email protected]

Connect with Christina at her blog, on Twitter @xtinadlr, and on Mastodon @[email protected]

Support the show on Patreon or make a one-time donation via PayPal.

Get bonus content on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Check out Salinas Public Libraries at https://salinaspubliclibrary.org/ and connect with them @salinaslibrary on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, or @salinaspubliclibrary on Instagram and TikTok.

Connect with Solarpunk Presents Podcast on Mastodon @solarpunkpresents @climatejustice .rocks, or at our blog https://solarpunkpresents.com/

Connect with Ariel at her blog and on Mastodon @[email protected]

Connect with Christina at her blog, on Twitter @xtinadlr, and on Mastodon @[email protected]

Support the show on Patreon or make a one-time donation via PayPal.

Get bonus content on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

Urban Versus Rural Solarpunk: Ariel & Christina Discuss

Does solarpunk dream utopic dreams of clean, just, green cities that are great places to live in vibrant communities with other people? Or is solarpunk about getting back to the land, having your own chickens, being self-sufficient, and helping out your neighbors? City dweller Ariel, who dreams of life in the countryside, and countryside dweller Christina, who sees the advantages of city life, consider the pros and cons of trying to live urban versus rural solarpunk lives.

Here are links to some of the literature we discussed:

https://www.williamcronon.net/writing/Trouble_with_Wilderness_Main.html

https://archive.org/details/boston-hearth-project-by-tjwatson/mode/2up?view=theater

Connect with Solarpunk Presents Podcast on Twitter @SolarpunkP or Mastodon @[email protected] or solarpunkpresents.com

Connect with Ariel at her blog, on Twitter at @arielletje, and on Mastodon @[email protected]

Connect with Christina at her blog, on Twitter @xtinadlr, and on Mastodon @[email protected]

Support the show on Patreon or make a one-time donation via PayPal.

Ariel's note: this is a constructed debate, and not necessarily reflective of the opinions of all solarpunks everywhere, but a debate that Christina and I see fairly often in solarpunk spaces, so we wanted to duke it out in a fun and engaging way to provoke thought.

Get bonus content on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

Beirut: Finding Your Future in a Nearly Failed State, With JD Harlock

The situation in Lebanon today is bleak. Carved out of the remains of the Ottoman Empire and subjected to years of colonialism-lite administration by France, its economy and infrastructure have been devastated by a long civil war, overlapping occupations by Syria and Israel, and corruption on a massive scale. Since 2019, Lebanon has been in the midst of a severe financial crisis, with widespread unemployment and hyperinflation. Now 80% of the population is poor and Lebanon is on the brink of becoming a failed state.

And yet, JD Harlock, Poetry Editor at Solarpunk Magazine, who lives in Beirut, believes in solarpunk. Join us for this episode to find out how that can be and what day to day life is like in Beirut right now.

You can find JD on Twitter and Instagram at @JD_Harlock.

#Lebanon #EconomicCrisis #Solarpunk

Connect with Solarpunk Presents Podcast on Twitter @SolarpunkP, Mastodon @solarpunkpresents @climatejustice .rocks, or at our blog https://solarpunkpresents.com/

Connect with Ariel at her blog, on Twitter at @arielletje, and on Mastodon @[email protected]

Connect with Christina at her blog, on Twitter @xtinadlr, and on Mastodon @[email protected]

Support the show on Patreon or make a one-time donation via PayPal.

Get bonus content on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.