The problem is not carbon

The world gathers at tremendous expense to discuss net zero and carbon offsets.

The pesky little carbon atoms need to be controlled. The focus, energy, effort and money that goes into actions, be they actions to make a difference or actions to make a distracting noise of apparent difference. The attention is huge.

Yet the problem is not carbon. 

It was never carbon. 

It is the system itself that says, unless it produces an exorbitant financial profit, we will not do it. Growth is essential for capitalism to remain. The lords of the Universe must get more. 

Energy, and our need for energy, rule all considerations. Yet the requirement for energy is predicated on a Western lifestyle that demands more. AI is going to ask for more than we could possibly imagine, exponentially greater than any energy usage to date. And while AI has its uses, our frenzy to use it is the 2025 addiction of choice. Where is our restraint? 

But let’s focus on carbon.

So we spin in this relentless cycle. Energy, profit, and money are going upwards, and the absolute commitment to maintaining capitalism, while the world is being exterminated.

But we focus on carbon, never questioning the system that underpins excess carbon as the side effect. Never questioning why the lords of Universe need more and more and more. 

*We do need to remove carbon from the atmosphere and our oceans. Yet to do this and not attend to the system that allows carbon to be stuff out of place is like putting a band-aid on a cancer.

Photo June 6th 2025, Article written June 6th 2025