The fact that youre the typical American with all the typical possesions is enough because of the fact that youre adopting the habits needed in a solarpunk world.

There are plenty of valid reasons why you should still drive a gas car, if you need it then you need it. Bottom line is, evs arent practical for many people/areas atm but until the situation changes, youre good

Continue adapting and youll soon realize how far youve come.

You’re not a poser. You’re starting somewhere. And starting anywhere is better than not starting at all.

To supplement what you’re already doing: I strongly believe the most important thing you can do to create change is talk about it.

https://www.talkingclimate.ca/p/the-most-impactful-climate-actions?triedRedirect=true

So when you grow a native lawn, you could let people know what you’re growing and why - talk to your neighbors, put up signs next to your flowers with QR codes linking to species identification, etc. If you’re deciding what to buy based on packaging, tell friends and family why you buy what you buy - you could even write to companies thanking them for using less/no plastic or whatever, you’d be surprised how few people contact companies and how big an impact a single letter can have. Etc.

Your individual action may not have much of an impact, but collective action starts with individual action - with one person inspiring another, and then they go on to inspire more, and more, and more. Be the change you want to see in the world 😆

There’s lots of different ways to contribute, some big some small, but all matter. I used to be a bit of a car enthusiast as well, but honestly, I’ve found e-bikes to be more fun nowadays simply due to how relaxed you can be while riding around. As for an analog EV, the newly announced Slate has stated that there will be no wifi or tracking ability in their mini-truck/SUV, which makes it quite a unique potential offering in the modern day, something to consider.

As for other ways you can bring a bit more solarpunk to your life, here’s a few ideas:

• Look for a local group to engage in mutual aid with, not only can you meet some cool like-minded folk to befriend, you’d be making a pretty big impact in your local community.
• Perhaps there’s a place that would benefit from a community fridge? That could be a cool project to do together with your friends or mutual aid buddies :D
• If you’re not in an HOA, maybe turning your front yard into a community garden that your friends or neighbors can participate in with you could be another fun project, and a potential source of extra food for that community fridge
• If you have a good relationship with your coworkers and you think they’d be down for it, the IWW could help you unionize your workplace and form a grassroots worker-led union! Alternatively, you could print out their pamphlets and hand them out to people who you think might be interested to help spread the word.
• If there isn’t one nearby (and you have no HOA and your neighborhood is conducive to it), a little free library out front could be another cool way to connect with your neighbors, and could be partially stocked with zines that you think would be appealing
• If you live close enough to a store and have the means, consider getting a used ebike off craigslist, slapping some saddle bags on it, and doing grocery runs with it! Great way to have an excuse to exercise too.

Look into what wildflowers are native to your area and get some seeds. It’s minimal cost and helps the local pollenators.

Make a bee hotel post. (Various sizes of hole drilled into a piece of upright untreated log) Solitary bees need a place to nestle in too.

If you are a ‘car guy’ you might have the skills to do an electric conversion. Get someone’s old junker with a good manual transmission, rip out the gas motor and strap in an electric and some batteries. Or do it small first on two wheels.

If you can get away with it, try some guerilla gardening to enhance the local growth off your patch as well. Natural with some help can be even better/more biodiverse than untouched woodlands.

You could try permaculture.

I wont buy electric until they are analog and disconnected from any sort of internet.

I have this one:

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_i_MiEV_-_Peugeot_iOn_-_Citroën_C-ZERO

As analog as you will get. Bought second hand for cheap. Only about 100 km range though so not for every use.

I’m of similar temperament but not into cars. I think I deserve street creds for dropping and rebuilding my 72 VW bus pancake engine many years ago, but that was mainly to save money - I never felt like a greasemonkey. More of a woodworking guy and DIY remodeling junkie with lots of sit-down hobbies. But I totally get that you can’t live in a hut and have a ton of hobbies and interests - we need clean dry places to work, and room for our tools and endless stuff, right? My house has been fully solar for 5 years and I’ve had an electric car since 2014. I don’t think you’re a poser at all. What I’m wondering about is your comment about EVs. They predate the internet by a long shot, but I srsly doubt they’ll ever get away from modern digital controls and battery management. And you’re using the internet right now, so what’s the deal with that? Just wondering.

The secret is that we are all posers. Do it for yourself and everything else will fall in line.

Take baby steps and do what you can do when you can do it. The consumer mentality in us says to to spend 30k on solar panels and then another 45k in an electric car. If you can’t afford to change and need to just buy another $2000 car to fix up and keep on the road again, then do what you can.

I would love to go fully electric, but my lifestyle can’t handle the change. Maybe if Slate makes a cheap car.

I’m not sure if you’re that bad off. If you can only contribute a little, that’s still better than resigning and doing nothing. I think every little bit counts. I’m not sure how electricity works in the USA and whether you can buy an inverter and feed the solar energy into mains and help your fridge and AC during the day… I mean concerning ecology, people usually recommend to cut down on consumerism. And make wise choices. I believe that’s something almost everyone can participate in. Don’t buy a lot of unnecessary cheap plastic stuff on TEMU, buy just as many cars as you need, generally don’t buy stuff you don’t need. Avoid silly packaging if possible. Prefer products which last. And don’t waste stuff. (And a million of other things.)
You seem to be doing quite a few things already. I mean you won’t be saving the planet on your own or something like that. But contributing what you can do still is a positive contribution and I think it will have some effect. A small one, yes but that’s what one individual can do. I think for a big effect we need some coordinated effort and get politics involved… But that’s hard, will take quite some time and any individual again has just a small incluence on politics on a national level.

Edit: Aside from politics, you could also educate other people on a smaller scale, spread the word…

As poVoq suggested, start a tree nursery and plant trees around. Also grow your own food. These two things can be the same thing.

Well, it’s not a bad start. Maybe turn some part of you yard into a tree nursery and plant them somewhere?

Or if you know how to fix older cars try to help others with that and see how such community efforts evolve?

@applemao
Don’t do things because you want to make a difference, do them to for the joy of doing them.
Keep reading about solar punk stuff, and you will get inspired to do more solar punk stuff. Building your own analogue EV, turning your garden into a pollinators paradise. Do stuff for fun and inspire others.
Plus, get into politics, in any way, and make a difference fighting the system.
IMHO