That definitely sounds like an ideal Lunarpunk future!

Great points and things to think about.

Maybe the headline of the article is asking the wrong question and bioluminescent plants can supplement street lights to work with them. With solar-power charging the lights during the day and the addition of bioluminescence you could ideally save energy and still keep the night safely lit. It seem like interest in bioluminescence is only growing so it will be interesting to see how it advances and if it changes the ways people look at outdoor lighting.

Yeah I agree. I think the article tried to make that clear. I bought one of the Light Bio bioluminescent petunias a couple years ago and while it was pretty magical it certainly wasn’t powerful enough to be more than a bit of a night light. Considering how far engineered bioluminescence has advanced in the timeline mentioned, starting in the 80s but really picking up momentum in the last few years, hopefully it won’t be too far off before we can see improvements and get to the point that plants together could illuminate larger areas

Yeah, I generally approach superheroes with a bit of caution and it’s not usually the type of fiction I favor but seemed worth considering, especially with the community being a little dormant.

Thank you! SLRPNK has definitely changed and grown a lot since I first joined as I’m sure you remember and that wouldn’t be possible without the hard work of you and the other admins, moderators, and instance members who have made it such a great source for information and discussion.

That makes sense. It does link to this abstract which lists several scholarly sources if you want to check their accuracy

Yeah it’s not as clear as it could be. I wonder if anything is lost in translation. I clicked to the study it links to which is by Chinese scientists and it had an abstract but requires an institutional login or a payment to see more detail.

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Please don’t purge me

All good. It’s clear that you’re passionate as we all are and I appreciate the feedback. We’re all learning and trying to find the best solutions as well. Criticism is important but discussions can sometimes break down easily here is all.

You bring up a lot of good points and I think those things are certainly aspirational. Cooperatives are great and worth working towards and highly beneficial which I say that from having once been part of a large coop who worked with cooperatives in Africa. I personally don’t think state-control of anything should be the ultimate goal but as you pointed there are reasons some funding is lagging behind in certain regions that can be nuanced and complex. For some regions, maybe this could give them a bit more of a chance?

Ultimately I absolutely agree that this is the decision of citizens of African nations on a local level and private funding and implementation is not a long term solution. I would love to see more of the forms you mentioned and hear more from African voices . In a world largely dominated by the English language due to colonialism, maybe articles like this can at least be reminders of issues not always covered in the news and potential solutions. It certainly generated some good discussion and I’ll check out the links you shared.

I didn’t read it that way at all and don’t have any issue with those things. It’s just one possible proposition that the authors made and I shared to this forum. . Could you word your responsea a bit more constructively?

I don’t think the article contains any endorsement of the IMF

Thanks for your feedback. The authors of the article do address that.

Cool find! Very concise and to the point. Their color scheme even pairs perfectly with Lunarpunk.

Yeah it had a lot of good insight into history and how it applies to the present moment that hopefully inspires some people. I’m glad you liked it. Unfortunately the closest they are to the Fediverse is Bluesky for now but hopefully you enjoy getting their updates.

It’s currently a work in progress and it’s often that articles don’t go into full detail on that work but it links to this this article which goes into further detail and may answer some of your questions. Constructive comments are more appreciated than cynicism

I’m aware and certainly agree they should find a more ethical host.