A journey into the world of carbon, the most versatile element on the planet, by the New York Times bestselling author Paul Hawken

Carbon is the only element that animates the entirety of the living world. Though comprising a tiny fraction of Earth’s composition, our planet is lifeless without it. Yet it is maligned as the driver of climate change, scorned as an errant element blamed for the possible demise of civilization.

Here, Paul Hawken looks at the flow of life through the lens of carbon. Embracing a panoramic view of carbon’s omnipresence, he explores how this ubiquitous and essential element extends into every aperture of existence and shapes the entire fabric of life. Hawken charts a course across our planetary history, guiding us into the realms of plants, animals, insects, fungi, food, and farms to offer a new narrative for embracing carbon’s life-giving power and its possibilities for the future of human endeavor.

In this stirring, hopeful, and deeply humane book, Hawken illuminates the subtle connections between carbon and our collective human experience and asks us to see nature, carbon, and ourselves as exquisitely intertwined—inseparably connected.

Story Locale:Planet Earth
 
Contributor Bio(s)
 
Paul Hawken is a bestselling author and leading voice calling for the regeneration of nature and humanity. He has authored nine books published in thirty languages, including The Ecology of Commerce, Blessed Unrest, and Regeneration. Founder of projects Drawdown and Regeneration, he is a renowned lecturer who consults with NGOs, governments, and corporations worldwide. He and his wife live in the Cascade Creek watershed in Northern California with coyotes, foxes, bobcats, ravens, flocks of nuthatches, red-tailed hawks, and pileated woodpeckers.

Author Residence: Mill Valley, CA

Author Hometown: San Mateo, CA