@solarpunkpresents really enjoyed season 3 episode 1. I think it’s key that #solarpunks debate and discuss everything and it’s good to hear alternative opinions. I was particularly interested about the concept of mineral footprint, where are we going to source the nails and screws of the future? #solarpunk
@smallsolar On the individual level, I know that people for years have just burned the wood containing nails/screws and reused them, but idk if that will work on an industrial level.
Perhaps using Japanese-style traditional joinery techniques that don't require nails/screws might be one way to cut down on the need for new nails/screws.
That, and we could hold the companies supplying these items accountable, to reevaluate their supply chain, where they get their ore, how they pay/treat their workers, how material gets from one place to the next!
Also, I think the world (esp the Global North) needs to become so much better at recycling our minerals and scrap materials into useable goods.
It's certainly a wicked problem. Like I say in the episode, I don't know it'll be solved by any one thing alone, but I have hope in many different groups of solarpunk-minded people to make a difference in their communities.
@solarpunkpresents thanks Ariel for the reply! Perhaps I should setup a village nail/screw repository a bit like community tool kits. (Actually isn’t a terrible idea!)
Many of my neighbors have tools they’ll loan to others in our neighborhood - I like the idea of having a communal location like a little library where you can take or leave nails/screws.
@solarpunkpresents@RavynWitch reflecting on my own maker/diy approach I have often been forced to order multiples of a washer or screw, I recently took down some plasterboard/drywall and managed to recover the screws from there.
I could see the ‘Little Parts Library’ being mounted on a wall, lots of coded little draws and a larger deposit slot for new donations. It would need a solar panel roof and would host its own web server which tracked usage and meant 1/2
@solarpunkpresents@RavynWitch you could look up if there was available parts before you turned up. Volunteers would pop in a few times a week to tidy up and sort the new donations.
I’m inspired! Though I bet it turns out this is a real movement and I’m late to the party!
@solarpunkpresents@smallsolar I think the reality is that it's putting too much thought into worrying about something tiny. In a wooden building, the amount of screws/nails is going to only be a couple of kilos. The metal for such is almost infinitely recyclable. If we have steel production using Hydrogen, then it's a zero emission cycle too.
Yes we could use trenails (the European version of the wooden pegs you mention). But the reality is, this is not a major issue we need worry about.
Maybe, maybe not! There are so many different kinds of people in the world and I think that the solarpunk movement really benefits from both the big-picture thinkers and the people who think critically about the small stuff, as that impacts folx on very personal level, and often leads to scaling up.
The way I see it, thinking critically about and having discussions about seemingly minor topics like where nails and screws come from can lead one to thinking about the supply chains of materials in general, as well as the ethics of labour that go into buildings both locally and globally, because labour codes will vary depending on where you're located. And that might lead to thinking about workers' rights... et cetera.
Small stones can generate very large ripples; everything is interconnected. Imo, it's worth it to have these conversations for that reason, as the participants take something different from them in a way that impacts the way that they see their world and how it works. We are all of us trapped in our own heads, in our own contexts. We have to start small in order to go big; and if we stay small, that's okay, because it is making a difference where we are at and inspiring others, maybe to go on to tackle major issues.
(Also I don't believe that right this moment steel production worldwide is using hydrogen, so it is not zero-emission - but because of conversations like this, people can push for that change to be in place, so maybe it will be a moot point in future. But since we are in the present right now, we are perfectly positioned to advocate for that reality to come to pass as part of a solarpunk future.)
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