The Disabled Community

Hello World, I'm Tomasino.

This is SolarPunk Prompts,

a series for writers and artists where we discuss

SolarPunk,

a movement that imagines a world where technology is used

for the good of the planet.

In this series we spent each episode exploring a single

SolarPunk story prompt, adding some commentary,

some inspirations, and some considerations.

Most importantly,

we consider how that story might help us to better envision

a sustainable civilization.

If this is your first time here,

I'd recommend checking out our introduction episode first,

or the season's introduction,

where we talk about what SolarPunk is, why you should care,

and why this series came into being.

Today's prompt is, The Disabled Community.

A community of people with disabilities share their best

tricks on how to deal with a harsh world not made for them.

A lot of what they share remains unspoken,

for everyone knows the pain and challenges they face.

SolarPunk stories are innately about community.

It is actually the first rule we laid out in our

introductory episode, community as protagonist.

There is no chosen one.

These innovative communities,

the ones that thrive in refugee camps or that self

-organize in the wake of disasters,

or even intentional communities trying to live in harmony

with their environment, all share a common narrative.

They build a collective experience that feels like a

livable alternative.

The places we discuss and create seem real,

seem reasonable, and seem achievable.

We know there must be changes,

differences from what we experience now.

Oil drilling doesn't get replaced by hydropower and then

everything else proceeds as before.

society has changed.

These communities exist across that line in that new

reality and they demonstrate how it is possible and may be

even enjoyable.

But imagining the future world that might not have all the

conveniences we are used to in our daily lives can conjure

a wide range of emotional reactions.

It is interesting to think about this in contrast with

cyberpunk stories.

In that genre the future world is pessimistic,

yet the aesthetic of technological progress often offers

the reader examples of new tools, entertainments,

or luxuries.

In solarpunk we give an optimistic vision but often with

new hardships, inconveniences, or challenges.

How does that make you feel as you think about it?

Look at how much better the world is now.

We can breathe freely, our water is clean.

but you can't hop on a plane to travel on holiday.

That's not good for the planet,

or perhaps your world will solve that one,

but something else will surely make my point.

These new challenges and limitations are part of that new

reality for your solar pump community.

They need to deal with it,

and your audience needs to see them do it.

How will they adapt and overcome?

Is the difficulty related to travel?

Is it harder to perform routine tasks?

You see where I'm going with this.

In 2016,

12th Planet Press published an award -winning anthology

called Defying Doomsday.

From there, blurb,

Defying Doomsday is an anthology of apocalypse fiction

featuring disabled and chronically ill protagonists,

proving it's not always the fittest who can survive.

It's the most tenacious, stubborn,

enduring and innovative characters who have the best chance

of adapting when everything is lost.

This particular anthology isn't solar punk,

but it can help inspire us to think about the unique points

of view of people with disabilities,

or living with chronic illnesses facing these new

situations.

Many people face challenges in today's world filled with

conveniences and luxuries.

Our world of plenty may offer a lot,

but challenges persist.

We routinely encounter spaces designed and built without

thought to their accessibility.

In cities and towns built around car culture,

simply reaching common destinations may not be possible

without one.

For a person who cannot operate a car,

there is now a barrier to everyday activities.

Our solar punk communities will have new challenges for

everyone, but most especially for people with disabilities.

A person with diabetes, for example,

needs access to insulin as much as food and water.

you A 2022 report by the Access to Medicine Foundation

states that out of the 108 low and middle income countries

analyzed,

only 29 countries have all insulins from WHO's model list

of essential medicines registered.

Today's world is doing a poor job of getting a vital drug

that costs between $2 to $4 to produce to everyone who

needs it.

How active will pharmacology be in your solar punk world?

Will necessary medicines be produced locally or regionally?

Is there sufficient trade to get what's needed?

How high is it on the priority list of your community?

Those are interesting questions on their own,

but consider the people who need it to survive.

How active will their voice be in the new community?

People with disabilities have experienced facing challenges

and overcoming them.

They develop workarounds, alternative paths,

new tools and techniques,

their innovations and adaptations help communities in

profound ways that are often hard to imagine before they

begin.

The podcast, 99% Invisible,

has an episode titled Curb Cuts,

which discusses these slopes at the corners that make it

easy to roll between sidewalk and street.

But it does more than that.

It talks about Ed Roberts,

the activist and father of the independent living movement,

and the tenacity of the disabled community in fighting for

their rights in the United States for independence in their

environments.

Two points are made clear in the episode.

First, for people like Ed Roberts,

living with a disability will be doing exactly that.

Living.

When he became paralyzed below the neck,

everything in life was hard.

Even breathing was a chore.

With the help of family,

he began to transform the world around him to make it into

a place he could thrive.

That tenacity would see him through a master's degree at

Berkeley and co -found the Center for Independent Living.

Second,

the curb cuts themselves went on to have a positive impact

for more than just wheelchair users.

They also improved life for people pushing babies and young

children strollers, bikers, workers making deliveries,

and many more.

We now refer to the curb cut effect to describe how laws

and programs designed to benefit vulnerable groups,

such as people with disabilities,

often end up benefiting all.

Work clearly remains for us today.

The more barriers we break down and the more accessible we

make our environments,

the more we can enable the energy and vision of every

member of our communities.

As Deborah Ra, CEO and founder of Ra Global Impact Puts It,

accessibility allows us to everyone's potential.

Let's recall our third guideline for SolarPunk.

SolarPunk is about the human environmental context,

not man -first nature.

Carol J.

Gill is a power wheelchair user with post -polio syndrome.

She wrote of her experiences of a gynecological referral at

a nearby major medical university.

I was told that I would not be seen unless I could bring my

own assistants to help me get on the examining table.

This is a huge world -renowned hospital.

This is the era of ADA.

I am still treated as though I don't belong with the other

women who seek services in OBGYN unless I can make my

disability issues go away.

This news makes me weary.

I know it means once again that I can't simply pursue what

I need as an ordinary citizen.

I can't just be a woman who needs a pelvic exam.

I must be a trailblazer.

I must make the many bits of legal information and

persuasive arguments it will take to get me into that

clinic.

This is the definition of human environmental context.

Our physical and social environments affect how we

participate in community.

A solar punk community is a sustainable one in harmony with

its environment.

That's the goal.

That's the vision.

As terrific and inspiring are the stories of people like Ed

Roberts,

we must also keep in mind the people like Carol Gill.

That weariness is important.

People with disabilities of any type may be necessary

champions for their own inclusivity and accessibility,

but we can envision a better future community that won't

force them to be a trailblazer for their basic needs.

Let's look back at today's prompt again.

A community of people with disabilities share their best

tricks on how to deal with a harsh world not made for them.

A lot of what they share remains unspoken,

for everyone knows the pain and challenges they face.

This new world will present new challenges for our

communities.

Solar punk's vision for the future is positive though.

How will we help envision that better future despite those

challenges?

One important way could be through our portrayal of

vulnerable groups.

How will they participate?

How will they thrive?

Let their voices be heard.

Let them feel real.

Let them show how the whole community benefits when all of

us can participate.

Finally, give some thought to your narrative perspective.

Depending on how the story is told,

we can play with reader expectations to enhance the impact

of your story's message.

For example,

perhaps the the character's disability is not framed that

way, until the final paragraphs of the story.

Suggesting to your reader that the climate has become so

incredibly hostile that people need to rely on new

assistive technology for mobility or access,

what happens to their empathy and understanding when the

truth is revealed?

Does it provide a new way to understand the situation of

people with disabilities?

Does it recontextualize the climate crisis?

Now,

let's have a quick final word regarding storytelling of

people with disabilities.

People with disabilities, whether physical or mental,

visible or invisible, are whole,

complex and valued human beings.

They are contributing members to their communities and need

to be shown as such with dignity.

A disability is not all the finding,

nor is having a disability homogeneous.

Every individual will experience things differently.

but let's give them the due consideration they deserve.

Until next time, I'm Tom Asino,

I hope you'll join me for the next Solar Pump Prompt.

and Bring Me the Sky by Scott Buckley.

and Bring Me the Sky by Scott Buckley.