Ecopunks

Ecopunks is a term used to describe a loose umbrella of speculative fiction, art, and subcultures that foreground ecological concerns within futuristic or alternative societal visions. Works and communities labeled as ecopunk typically explore the intersection of technology, nature, and social organizing, emphasizing sustainable practices, ecological restoration, and resilience in the face of environmental crisis. The term is often used in contrast to cyberpunk, by situating technology within ecological limits and community-oriented responses rather than corporate domination.

In fiction and media, ecopunk narratives tend to portray green technologies, renewable energy, and decentralized systems as central drivers of society. Settings may range from post-crisis cities to rewilded landscapes, with plots emphasizing grassroots activism, repair economies, and anti-extractivist ethics. Solarpunk is related and sometimes overlapping, sharing optimistic tones and practical eco-technology, but ecopunk can also examine darker futures.

Beyond literature, ecopunk informs real-world cultural practice, including DIY sustainability, upcycling, permaculture, and environmental justice organizing that adopts punk aesthetics or rhetoric. This usage frames ecological action as both ethical project and political counterculture, often linked to maker spaces, community gardens, and open-source hardware for sustainable infrastructure.

Critics note that the term is fluid and overlapping with other eco-genre labels, and that its political commitments vary across communities. As a result, ecopunk functions more as an umbrella for diverse works and practices than as a single, unified movement.