It all depends on local conditions.
For Eastern Europe, where I live, I would recommend a slow (~45km/h) pickup (2 + 1000kg) - the one pictured below. For extended range you can add a PV canopy and even a small gas-powered genset for emergencies.
...which is ideally / eventually the usecase for the coin I am thinking about.
So, do I understand you correctly that we are talking about several "tokens" based on the same chain? I know there are some open chain frameworks (ETH is waaay too capitalist for my liking) that could be utilised - after diligent scrutiny.
Meanwhile, in another subthread, we got to (probably central) question, whether basic risks: double-spending and forgery, could be addressed without blockchain, in a publicly transparent and verifiable way.
One technical remark:
if you have your currency fixed to say imaginum and there is only a fixed supply of imaginum in the world, but the economy grows twice in size, you end up with 100% inflation.
Should read "deflation".
Other than that, I agree - within your assumptions of a well run governemnt. However, there is a whole lot of people within solarpunk realm who do not believe thet "a well run government" can exist (detailed definitions aside) and do want government (governance body) beyond the scale of a community that can directly control it. Thus, any such government-backed currency would still be local. Which puts us back to the field one, lacking the intergovernmental exchange carrier.
Getting a bit more theoretical, I am in favor of two currency-backing values that are IMO elementary and not substitute: energy and time. We see many "timebank" systems run locally, but even if we can say that this is the currency created (though commitment) by individuals, they still follow the pattern of central clearing office, sometimes with added reputation systems.
Energy - which essentially all solar, by the way - is mostly used via proof-of-work schemes, and could probably be used through proof-of-useful-work filter, which to me looks like a good way to fund/support public works.
This way or another, whatever is the source of the currency, we always need to address the risk of double spending and forgery. In absence of a commonly trusted authority (bank or government), public trust and control can be exercised through an openly available, tamper-proof and distributed ledger. Now, blockchain is one way to implement it. Can we imagine something else?
tl;dr: No authority, no blockchain - then what?
Partly, I answered here: https://slrpnk.net/post/14539748/11723741
As for the scope of it, I see it as a bridge solution for the stage where we still have to interact with capitalist realm, but can already start building our own (post-capitalist, solarpunk, anarchist - whatever the name) real economy, so we need an inter-community exchange token. There should (nor will) not be a uniform solution for every community involved, so we need something to use as a mediating value carrier.
As such, it may retire at some point in favour of something better suited to the new world needs, or survive - like gold today - in mostly symbolic role.
Trust is a choice. There will always be people who choose not to trust - that is their right and they should not be alienated because of that.
I see two usabilities of altcoin in current (and mid-term) solarpunk context:
Thank you for mentioning GNU Taler.
I have freshly read an interesting article https://www.leafscore.com/blog/the-9-most-sustainable-cryptocurrencies-for-2021/ (the link is weirdly recycled, it is a 2024 piece), showing that there is a number of altcoins (and I use this term deliberately - no ETH or BTC included) trying to solve both the technical and political faults of the initial concept. I believe that, if one designs a currency properly in political sense, the technology can be adjusted as well.
We need altcoins as long as we interact economically over the net, with people we do not know (or simply with people outside our local communities). If we try to imagine what qualities a "solarpunk coin" should have, what are your thoughts? Do we know any existing coin, checking all boxes? This question is more about political economy of Solarpunk, then its technology.
As far as I know I am the only person trying to explore this topic as defined, at least in Polish context. So far I found two documents that are close to my idea, f lacking a live collective to keep them up to date and to support newcomers.
Keep in mind that, depending on local legal system, a co-op may not need to be registered as such. In Poland, for example, social enterprises can assume various legal forms, my favourite beng a civic association.
We already have open source software, design, devices. Perhaps the time has come for open source social business? Collectively developed, publicly available and cooperatively implemented business models?
When the purpose of a business is to meet social needs, with care for the planet and fair wages for working people, there is no reason to compete.
So we can jointly develop business ideas and support each other in implementing them.
What do you think?
Testing the water. (context: Poland)
I am permanently dumbstruck by the wealth of neglected opportunities for cooperative social ventures. There are many needs created by hostile capitalist modernity, that can be fulfilled in a win-win manner: affordable for customers, justly paid for providers.
In TePeWu we are working towards starting some such projects, and I am curious if anyone here is thinking along similar ways. To me, it is a reasonable first step towards building a solarpunk society.
Examples in Polish context:
If anyone is interested in a deeper conversation, I am happy to have it.
The first phase of the Looking Up! is the prototyping of the entire platform. Translated into more practical language, this means that we have to deliver specific elements, tangible and intangible, which are to work together as envisaged in the programme.
The purpose of the prototype is to give us a practical demonstration how the platform works, as well as to give us the experience necessary to get the ‘production’ version up and running.
A properly functioning prototype will also make it easier for us to raise funds for stage two – implementation.
Planned duration of work on the prototype: 6-8 months from the programme launch (1 February 2024)
The planetary revolution is here - for some time, it appears. Only, as it is not exactly what we expected, it sort of blindsided us.
But we need to see it clearly now and find our way to navigate the transition between old capitalist ecosystem towards the new one, largely uncertain - and largely malleable, which is an opportunity and threat at the same time.
There are two priorities I keep in mind, when thinking about collapse-time technologies.
When it comes to electric power generation and various types of generators, I am very reluctant to accept generators based on rare-earth magnets. First, they are "bloody metals" indeed, mined and refined with extreme hurt to the planet and people. Second, their delivery chain is long and quite centralised which makes them possibly unavailable in case of disruption of the logistic system. While we wait for the US-sponsored program to develop alternative materials, still we can explore two avenues of research:
The recycling topic deserves separate consideration, in respect to a hypothesis of the "scavengers civilisation" as the next stage of human history. Meanwhile, we can have a closer look at constructions, using much more sustainable ceramic (aka ferrite) magnets, or no magnets at all.
If we can develop a "DIY" technology to make ceramic magnets, we can combine it with designs from 19th and early 20th Century and create alter-futurist line of more collapse-friendly electricity generators.
Anyone into pattern language, to be applied to increase community resilience and preparedness?
There is a multitude of sources, providing technical knowledge and solutions to various needs in the spirit of low-tech, appropriate technology and resilience. Appropedia is surely the most renowned of them, accumulating information from many valuable collections.
However, typically for a wiki, the structure of this vault is more suitable for studying, than for direct implementation.
Let us assume the following scenario:
We plan to build technical infrastructure for a small settlement, located on a particular patch of land. We are moderately tech-capable. We can read and understand a documentation; we can implement it, with some adjustments. But we have no knowledge nor experience broad enough to deep-dive into a wiki and find solutions suitable for our specific situation.
We need a tool to help us somehow connect our context with searching criteria, and to select matching solutions, or at least to shortlist them.
First step toward this goal is to build a structure - a pattern language - starting from various needs to fulfill, and showing logical combinations of technical solutions to be applied.
Based upon such structure, we can try to build guidelines helping to make the whole process of selection semi-automated, with enough space for human consideration and variety of contexts. Using such a guide would lower the threshold both for selection and decision-taking process, and for education, allowing users to grow their knowledge and competences.
Do you know any such initiative being in progress? Or abandoned, that could be revived? Or maybe you would like to co-develop it?
In my dayjob, there are four such nice blue sticks, gathering dust on my shelf. I have a possibility to put them online via Raspberry Pi.
So, if there is someone who may have an interesting idea how to put them to work for the good cause, talk to me.
Do you really ONLY see disability on this picture? I see different people with different needs. It's about needs. People have different needs. IF you are more than happy to alienate them, because their needs offend you, you are giving them the right to alienate you. And finally everyone gets alienated. Is THIS Solarpunk for you?