Demand Utopia: A Solarpunk Podcast

On this episode of Demand Utopia: A Solarpunk Podcast from Solarpunk Magazine, host Justine Norton-Kertson continues the discussion about wildfire and smoke from earlier this week, but from the angle of clean air as public infrastructure rather than from the perspective of small community disaster preparedness.

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News Articles and Other Sources

Wildfires are making the US smoggy again, reversing progress on cleaner air, study finds

https://apnews.com/article/smog-wildfires-climate-change-ozone-artificial-intelligence-bc9cde6da8ae4019cc07b800c70106ad

Fires reverse progress toward ozone air quality standards in the United States

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aed3197

NASA-Funded Study Shows Wildfire Smoke’s Hidden Ozone Toll

https://science.nasa.gov/earth/nasa-funded-study-shows-wildfire-smokes-hidden-ozone-toll

Wildfire smoke has reversed US progress toward ozone air quality, study finds

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/04/wildfire-smoke-air-quality-ozone

The Clean Air Act 101

https://www.nrdc.org/stories/clean-air-act-101

American Lung Association State of the Air Report

https://www.lung.org/research/sota

Science in Action: How to Build a Corsi-Rosenthal Box

https://engineering.ucdavis.edu/news/science-action-how-build-corsi-rosenthal-box

Monitor the Air Quality Index Near You

https://www.iqair.com/usa

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On this episode of Demand Utopia: A Solarpunk Podcast from Solarpunk Magazine, host Justine Norton-Kertson brings you part 2 of our series of disaster prep as community care, and this episode is all about wildfire season. How do we prepare for the smoke, the evacuation orders, and fire? And how to ensure that those who need help aren't left behind to fend for themselves?

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On this episode of Demand Utopia: A Solarpunk Podcast from Solarpunk Magazine, host Justine Norton-Kertson reads a short story from our most recent issue, Solarpunk Magazine Issue #27. This story was written by Sylvie Althoff, and is titled, "Radio Free Luna, Signing Off."

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You can learn more about Sylvie Althoff and her work on her website, and you can connect with her on Bluesky @sylvie-althoff.bsky.social.

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On this episode of Demand Utopia: A Solarpunk Podcast from Solarpunk Magazine, we’re launching our series on disaster prep, not as a hyper-individualist apocalyptic fantasy, but as mutual aid and community resilience. We're calling this series "Disaster Prep is Community Care: An Anti-Prepper Survival Guide." Each Monday for the next eight weeks, we'll explore how real disaster preparedness isn't about hoarding supplies and hiding in a bunker, but is an organizing tool for building stronger communities and ensuring that when systems fail, no one is left behind.

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On this episode of Demand Utopia: A Solarpunk Podcast from Solarpunk Magazine, host Justine Norton-Kertson looks at the rise of solar power and examines the systems that keep us paying so much for electricity when sunlight is so abundant.

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SOURCES AND LINKS

Solar’s day in the sun is rapidly approaching

https://www.ft.com/content/2d78227e-d74d-43f0-ba92-13543e22b1d3

New Energy Outlook 2026

https://about.bnef.com/insights/clean-energy/new-energy-outlook/#row-6a19c1eed9b5a

CORRECTION: In the episode, it's stated that battery storage deployment could rise from 223 GW in 2025 to 3.8 TW by 2035, but that was said incorrectly. BloombergNEF’s executive summary says storage rises from 223 GW in 2025 to 3.8 TW by 2050, not 2035. Our apologies for the mistake.

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On this episode of Demand Utopia: A Solarpunk Podcast from Solarpunk Magazine, host Justine Norton-Kertson discusses the recent Regenerative Agriculture pledge signed by over 40 major food and agriculture companies, and asks if regenerative agriculture is becoming the next greenwashing scam.

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SOURCES AND LINKS

Global food and beverage giants join forces on regenerative agriculture

https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/global-food-beverage-giants-join-forces-regenerative-agriculture-2026-05-19

From pilots to practice: a new bid to scale regenerative agriculture

https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/land-use-biodiversity/pilots-practice-new-bid-scale-regenerative-agriculture--ecmii-2026-05-18

Climate reporting rules for food sector set high bar for regenerative agriculture

https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/climate-reporting-rules-food-sector-raise-bar-regenerative-agriculture--ecmii-2026-04-15

Rewarding farmers for regenerative agriculture is ‘critical for decarbonising the food sector

https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/land-use-biodiversity/rewarding-farmers-regenerative-agriculture-is-critical-decarbonising-food-sector-2024-06-10

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On this episode of Demand Utopia: A Solarpunk Podcast from Solarpunk Magazine, host Justine Norton-Kertson reads two short stories from Solarpunk Magazine Issue #27: "Beyond Mortar and Magic" by Alex Vossler, and "What the Sea Remembers" by Dennis Mombauer.

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Get Issue #27: https://solarpunkmagazine.com/shop/solarpunk-magazine-issue-27

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On this episode of Demand Utopia: A Solarpunk Podcast from Solarpunk Magazine, host Justine Norton-Kertson discusses the recent UN General Assembly vote on climate action and the idea that climate aid isn’t charity or leverage in political negotiations, but instead, is an obligation. 

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SOURCES AND LINKS

News Articles on the UN Vote:

https://apnews.com/article/climate-change-vanuatu-trump-administration-international-court-90b89dc776e0bece17f2ab4064b7f71e

https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/un-backs-world-court-climate-opinion-us-among-few-oppose-2026-05-20

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/may/22/un-climate-crisis-vote-shows-political-momentum-growing-experts

UN Resolution Text: https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/4113865/files/A_80_L.65-EN.pdf

https://www.icj-cij.org/case/187

ICJ Advisory Opinion: https://icj-web.leman.un-icc.cloud/sites/default/files/case-related/187/187-20250723-adv-01-00-en.pdf

Columbia Law Blog Articles:

https://blogs.law.columbia.edu/climatechange/2025/08/13/a-panoply-of-consequences-remedies-and-reparations-in-the-icjs-climate-opinion

https://blogs.law.columbia.edu/climatechange/2025/08/05/new-standards-in-government-framework-litigation-legal-implications-of-the-icj-advisory-opinion-on-climate-change

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When disaster comes, the fantasy says: run, hide, protect your own. But real survival has never worked that way. When the smoke rolls in, when the floodwaters rise, when the power fails, when the evacuation order comes too late—what saves people isn't a bunker. It’s a neighbor with a spare room, a phone tree, a ride across town, a community center with clean air, a pantry built for sharing, and a plan that includes everyone.

This summer on Demand Utopia: A Solarpunk Podcast from Solarpunk Magazine, we’re talking about disaster prep as mutual aid, community care, and the infrastructure of survival.

Because no one survives alone.

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On this episode of Demand Utopia: A Solarpunk Podcast from Solarpunk Magazine, host Justine Norton-Kertson discusses local, national, and international efforts to grant legal rights to nature.

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SOURCES AND LINKS

Lane County Watersheds Bill of Rights

Full ballot measure language: https://www.protectlanecountywatersheds.org/read_ordinance

The ballot measure explained: https://oregonvotes.gov/voters-guide-military/Measure20-373Explanatory.html

Arguments in favor: https://oregonvotes.gov/voters-guide-military/Measure20-373ArgInFavor.html

Arguments opposed: https://oregonvotes.gov/voters-guide-military/Measure20-373ArgOppose.html

General Rights of Nature Sources

"Should Trees Have Standing" by Christopher D. Stone: https://southerncalifornialawreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Christopher-D.-Stone-Should-Trees-Have-Standing_%E2%80%94Toward-Legal-Rights-for-Natural-Objects-45-S.-CAL.-L.-REV.-450-1972..pdf

Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature: https://www.garn.org/rights-of-nature

Case Studies

Tamaqua, Pennsylvania: https://celdf.org/2015/08/tamaqua-borough

Toledo, Ohio: https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/03/06/lake-erie-bill-rights-federal-court-unconstitutional

Orange County, Florida: https://aldf.org/article/legal-rights-recognized-for-rivers-in-florida-and-quebec

Grant Township, Pennsylvania: https://insideclimatenews.org/news/13062023/pennsylvania-fracking-wastewater-injection-wells

https://celdf.org/2023/05/unrepentant-and-vindicated-proposed-frack-waste-injection-well-in-grant-township-to-be-plugged-and-abandoned

New Zealand: https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2017/7/en/latest/#DLM6831462

Columbia: https://apnews.com/article/atrato-guardians-illegal-mining-contamination-threats-choco-977ad1e171715b8f7fb20a8ac6b9e149

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