Can the Solar Punk movement save small town America?

 

I never expected to live out in the country.   I never expected to enjoy it.   I never expected to plant my own food, or do much of the day to day “manual” labor that living out in the country requires.  I was a city boy, I had come to enjoy the distractions that a city offered.

I never expected to love where I live, I love the quiet.  I love the stars at night.   I even love the deer that nibbled at my garden, or the wild turkey and foxes that live around me.   Which got me thinking, what can I do to improve the community around me?  Other than what I already do with the Odd Fellows?

Basically we live in an area of three closely knit towns, and despite the title of the blog – it’s not considered the “boondocks” but it is rural.   I live in the small town of Stoneboro, close to the small towns of Jackson Center and Sandy Lake.   Small communities that are all knitted together by country roads and a local high school.  We are 70 minutes from Pittsburgh, 100 minutes from Cleveland and 45 minutes from Youngstown, Ohio.  

So we are not by any means suffering from suburban sprawl.  However our town, and many more like it all across America are suffering a slow death as the younger people leave, and the older people die off.  There are more empty buildings in these three communities than there are people. 

Thankfully the three largest communities near us all have colleges to anchor them but even then the populations are under 10,000 people and, they too, are suffering from declining population but at a slower rate.  There are few to any industries or employment of note.

Which got me thinking…Can a “Solar punk mindset” save small town America?  It's all ready started in some ways.

Put aside your outdated thinking of what “punk” is.   Yes, it’s still aggressive three chord music played loud and fast but it’s also imbedded with a “Do it yourself” attitude and a deep sense of community.  Put aside the aggression, sneering sarcasm and frustration and you find people with deeply held commitments and a desire to make change happen.

“Defined by Monika Sklar in her book Punk Style, punk was a ‘vital new way to perform sub cultural ideas, which incorporated its own art, music, dress and lifestyles… commonly rooted in those who are somehow disenfranchised from society.” Or in other words, people that were interested in upsetting the status quo and make society better.

I know that small towns often have a reputation for a fixed mind set.  That normally rural America is considered solidly Red politically.   Many of the ideas of “Punk” would work in these areas.  That idea of personal freedom, the do it yourself attitude, the concept of community are all ideas that translate well between mindsets. 

If you look around you’ll quickly discover that much of the regenerative farming practices started on small and medium sized farms.  All it took was one farmer to have improved yields over the last year or two for other farmers to start the same practice.  That going against the grain might be considered a “punk move” but it worked.   Suddenly you have a movement…and those same farmers who work the soil day in and day out start to be a bit more outspoken about climate change, because they see it happening on their land year after year.

What started me thinking about a "punk movement" recently as I drive through the small community of Sandy Lake.  In the center of town there is a large building that dates back to the early 50's.   This building once held companies and community centers and once was full of life, and I can see no reason why it cannot again.  Let me bounce a crazy idea off of you.

A small engineering start up comes into town and buys that building.  They have access to 3D printers or other machines.  They put solar panels on the roof.  Now they go out to the local farmers in the area and go, “Hey, we like to 3D print you a part for your tractor.”  They could take advantages of the grants and start a business in any small town.

Now you have a small local market that starts to grow over time.   Your little group of forward thinking people band together, and buy homes in my small town.  They could help the community begin to thrive.   Local high school kids have jobs during the summer; the local university churns out engineers and conservationists.

That one farmer takes a chance and puts up a windmill for power generation created in his/her hometown, or mixes in solar panels with their crops.  Then a second farmer and a third farmer incorporate solar panels as well.   That’s how you build a green world, that’s how you create allies. 

If it sounds like it’s a bit of a pipe dream, it’s not.  Communities like Ellijay, GA. (population 1,847) have a makerspace where the community can take advantage of Audio and Visual production equipment, a 3D printer and general space for other types of products.  It’s more than a coffee shop and bakery.  It’s allowing various local voices to be heard.  It’s creating energy and change that benefits the whole community.

The biggest question I have however is how to generate this type of transformation from the bottom up?  How does one attract the investor?  In my example, how do you convince a small engineering/manufacturing firm to move to your small town?

Also you need the right mix of people.   If a company or individual comes to town and tries to force change overnight, this will only be met with resistance.   The insular reputation of some small towns is true, as are some of the racism, homophobia and sexism that can seem overwhelming. 

Again this type of change can only be done slowly and by affecting the bottom line of the community.  It’s harder to hate someone when your community is benefiting from their efforts.  Companies have to be integrated in the lives of their workers, and the worker needs to feel respected and involved in the day to day operations of that company.

These ideas can seem “punk” because now where talking about profit sharing, unions, and letting the employee have a voice in the direction of the company.   Ideas that may seem “socialist” to some but they will accept them...because they benefit from them.   Just don’t call them “socialist.”

In my daily job, I work for a faceless insurance company, I love the pay, pension and benefits that are provided to me, but I don’t feel personally invested in the company.   I’m just a cog that can be easily discarded.   If a green business or tech company is going to survive in a rural area, they must be invested in the workers lives.   They should want to buy that tractor part or windmill or solar panel, because they are invested in its success.

The only problem with all this however…is that I haven’t a clue on how to attract those types of business ventures to the area or if they would even be interested in coming to rural America.   That’s why we need the young start up’s.  That’s why we need their energy and ideas.

We can save small town America and make the world a better and greener place.   This is just an idea, one of many in the marketplace of ideas.   I’m not saying it would work, and I’m sure that there are hundreds of thousands of people trying to make things just a little bit better for their communities.

It’s got to start somewhere.  It’s got to start now.