Definition: the carbon symbol

Wiki: “Carbon is the 4^th most abundant element in the universe by mass after hydrogen, helium and oxygen. It is ubiquitous in all known lifeforms, and in the human body it is the second most abundant element by mass (about 18.5%) after oxygen. Carbon is the sixth most abundant element by weight in the Earth's crust. This abundance, together with the unique diversity of organic compounds and their unusual polymer-forming ability at the temperatures commonly encountered on Earth, make this element the chemical basis of all known life.”

In many ways we are Carbon Beings. Carbon molecules continually flow through us and constantly transform within us. Our DNA, with all its essential knowledge, is basically carbon. We exist because the activity of the carbon within us is in certain harmony and balance with the greater flow of carbon atoms on our planet and beyond. Without that harmony and balance we cease to exist.
 The carbon nitrogen cycle is a fusion reaction in our sun and generates the some of the solar energy that enables us and it is the essence of many of the great stars.

As Carbon Beings, our every action alters and affects the balance and flow of carbon on Earth. We are stewards of the carbon potential, whether we like it or not. There is no such thing as carbon neutrality. We are a constant interplay of carbon. To suggest our actions can ever be carbon neutral is to deny our role as stewards within the carbon flux.

Such denial is endemic in Anglo-American societies and it is manifest in notions that human beings can be carbon neutral and that we can “offset” and “trade” away the impacts of our activities on the carbon flows and balances.

For instance, it is common to believe our action of extracting and burning a fossil fuel can be “offset” or  “neutralized” by planting a tree. This represents a profound denial of stewardship/change, for it ignores the geophysical reality that the fossil fuel is a product of eons of change involving vast forces during a period that may be unique in the life of our planet. Our action of combusting fossil fuel destroys considerable elements of the carbon potential of our children. This destruction occurs in a context in which it is probable that the wealth in the fossil material could well be far more critical to their survival than ours.

We create vast and sophisticated systems based in this denial. The rationales for these systems are elaborate and fatally flawed. Examples include Carbon Trading systems (Emissions Trading Schemes) and notions that carbon resources are energy. Carbon Trading is the purest manifestation of the psychopathic elements we all retain. By ceding sovereignty, equity and stewardship to a stateless group of merchant bankers we place humanity at great peril.

Inherent in the denial are complex systems of self-hatred. This is symbolically manifest in the notions that we must:

 - “fight/kill/combat/stop carbon”;
 - become “low carbon” and even “zero carbon”;
 - try to be “carbon free”;
 - and aspire to a “post carbon” state.

These uses of the carbon symbol reveal self-deceit, hopelessness and denial of life. Carbon is symbolized as a problem rather than a wonderful resource that enables life. These uses reflect and generate hopelessness because they destroy much of the potential of the carbon symbol. In that potential is the awareness and knowledge that there exists a multitude of sustaining uses of carbon. Currently we make only primitive use of plants, fossil fuels and solar energy. We have barely begun to use the potential of carbon for conserving electrical potential and conducting electrical products, the storage of digital data, thermal insulation and other great efficiencies.

Summary

Enjoy the rewards of being a conservator of the potential of our greatest symbols.

 Some Thought Experiments
re the Carbon Trading Ethos

Page last  updated: March 2011

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