This is really cool! I think getting solar coolers into form factors compatible with how kitchens already operate could be a huge step towards adoption of the tech. It’s part of why I really like (this slightly simpler design)[https://solarcooking.fandom.com/wiki/Scheffler_Community_Kitchen]. I think the convenience factor in systems like this, where the cooks can operate basically as if it was a conventional oven, is great

Site prep is key, so make sure to bring a sledgehammer.

Happy to help!

There was this very cool handmade bike trailer wagon thing: https://slrpnk.net/post/1833883

For the artist’s experiences living out of it: https://theaimlesslywanderingartist.blogspot.com/2013/12/winter-comes-to-southern-california.html

But that’s a trailer. It sounds like you’re describing something closer to a Bicycle Rickshaw, possibly on a tricycle frame.

You could even do a recumbent bike:

It seems like either could be enclosed using techniques learned from popup campers for a fairly comfortable living space.

(I think a lot about all the crazy contraptions people would make if the roads weren’t exclusively the domain of giant trucks and SUVs, and if cargo bikes didn’t have to fit themselves into narrow bike lanes and roadsides. I think people would come up with some really cool and weird stuff. Add solar panels and ebike parts, and they’d get really interesting.)

That’s true of sedans and hatchbacks too though. Any reasonably sized car is unsafe while sharing the road with the giant trucks and SUVs they’re making to skirt around emissions requirements. I know Kei trucks in particular further lack crumple zones and other protections, but they’re otherwise so practical I wish there was a way to get them approved. Not every vehicle should be built to double as a daily driver.

My long-term dream is a much less car-dependant society, where most people have access to public transit and vehicles like this are there for actual truck purposes.

Speed limits would be a nice change, if only because they could reduce the endless campaign to expand roads to make them safer at higher and higher speeds, but I think it’d be an endless, contentious fight with very little to prevent people (who’ve spent their whole lives dependant on cars for anything they need) from changing them back. I have been impressed with my city for gradually narrowing it’s streets and converting lanes into restaurant space, bike lanes, and I think parks.

I love this kind of solarpunk art, showing largely practical reuse of existing buildings and infrastructure. Especially with the modifications to strengthen community and reduce car reliance.

Absolute worst case, the pavement was used to cap a contaminated site (rather than excavate the contaminated soil and move it to a lined and capped landfill).

Yeah I don’t think they’re talking about you

It depends on what you need to enjoy the space.

If you’re looking for a grass alternative and aren’t running around on it all the time, roman chamomile can be a good, low-growing, pet-safe plant. We used this on my neighbor’s postage stamp front lawn so he wouldn’t have to mow but it would still look nice and intentional. There are also a handful of other low-growing plants which require much less maintenance and are more drought-tolerant than grass, but they tend to be best for low-traffic areas, so if you’re out there playing catch or capture the flag with your kids most days they’re probably not as good as grass.

If you’re in a shady area, moss might be an option. It also prefers low traffic.

And the option abhored by HOAs and your fussiest neighbors: just don’t bother maintaining a perfect lawn. A lot of the work and environmental damage comes from keeping a perfect monocrop of a specific grass cultivar. Fertilizer to keep the soil good enough (which gets washed into local waterways and causes algae blooms) pesticides (which kill bees and a slew of other insects) and herbicides to kill any plants that try to compete with the grass (which remain in the soil as well). Traps for rodents that try to exist in the yard. Not to mention the energy and person-hours spent on trimming it frequently. Just accepting that grass isn’t really meant to form a thick lawn in most areas, and will look a bit patchy, multi-hued, and feature some other plants, will greatly reduce the effort and damage caused.

Or if you can’t stand the thought of doing that (or will get in trouble) consider downsizing it a little - section off the least-used sections of your lawn, plant some cool native trees or shrubs, throw down some mulch so it looks intentional.

And the last option (where applicable): no grass.

When I was a kid our house was in the woods, with no clearing to speak of, so we mostly just played on the forest floor, which was mostly leaves and pine needles. If you pick up the sticks and keep it somewhat open, it can look really beautiful.

Some kindle books I ‘owned’ recently got updates pushed to them, which in this case included a new cover or I probably wouldn’t have noticed. In 1984 they were fucking about with recalling books and issuing ‘corrected’ ones. But with online media, centralized in a company’s server, it’s comparatively easy to push changes.