So im a very typical American. Cars, big lawn, etc. I do the best I can with a garden, fixing my own cars instead of buying new, and trying not to buy things packaged in plastic. I also want to make most of my lawn clovers and wildflowers etc because I hate the boringness of grass and want biodiversity.
Now I think the solarpunk movement is awesome, but I feel like im just a poser. Obviously I can’t leave my house and go live in a grass hut. Im also one of those people with a million hobbies, so im always doing things (and by extension, purchasing things, though usually used). I’ve also always been a car guy, which kind of goes against the whole eco thing. Though I do pretty much only drive smaller cars. I wont buy electric until they are analog and disconnected from any sort of internet.
I feel like there’s many out there like me who just feel they wont make any difference anyways so they don’t get as involved. But what other things can someone like me do? I’ve thought about some panels on the house to potentially run small servers off of, but that’s pretty much it
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.
Why the good transmission? Most EVs run a single speed transmission, so there’s no need to keep the old 5/6 speed ICE one.
There are some benefits. Using it as a transmission lets you pick a gear like a mode. Want to have more efficient stop and go? Low gear. Want a more efficient highway drive? Higher gear. Direct drive is an option on some but a problem on others. Many vehicles also have a transmission that sits in the middle of the vehicle and delivers the power to the rear wheels. In those cases, it’s much easier to do the work in the engine bay than try to fit a motor in harder to access/modify areas of the vehicle. It’s all pros/cons to consider.