Carbon Is Not Our Enemy

“Carbon – the fourth most abundant element in the universe, and a fundamental building block of life – is being maligned in a way that distracts from the root causes of ecological destruction in favour of technological solutions that are not viable at scale, or international agreements that prioritise carbon accounting.” So says Paul Hawken in his new book. He also says that “community is the source of change, and what we have are obviously systems that are destroying community everywhere,” so “we have to be able to develop language about where we are, what’s happening, and where we wish to go… commensurate with that innate desire for us to connect, be families, love our children, be in wonder and awe, and be secure.” This means “we have to create a climate movement that is actually the human movement. And the human movement is humans that are not separate and distinct from nature… can we enter a different narrative for us, all of us, that actually allows us to listen, to connect, as opposed to know?”