Paul Hawken Public Lecture - The Reimagination of Carbon

Photo: Raymond Baltar

Carbon is the atom that holds hands and collaborates. It morphs into spheres, cylinders, and rings that make novel medicines, solar collectors and paper batteries. Organisms share carbon magnanimously; it is the currency of abundance. Carbon weaves a net connecting us to the countless forms of life that have existed on earth. It is a tale worthy of a civilization because it is the basis of civilization. The intense emotions around atmospheric carbon levels, completely justified given climate science, may prevent us from realizing that carbon graces every aspect of our life, a molecule that holds answers to all our dreams (and nightmares). Reimagination takes you to critically important worlds, natural and invented, that are rarely seen and wholly enchanting.

Paul Hawken is an environmentalist, entrepreneur, and author. His work includes starting ecological businesses, writing about the impact of commerce on living systems, and consulting with heads of state and CEOs on economic development, industrial ecology, and environmental policy. He is the author of seven books, including four international bestsellers: The Next Economy (Ballantine 1983), Growing a Business (Simon and Schuster 1987), The Ecology of Commerce (HarperCollins 1993) and Blessed Unrest (Viking, 2007).

This lecture is part of the  international conference on “Transformation in a Changing Climate” that will take place at the University of Oslo, June 19-21, 2013 (see the Transformation website).

Published June 6, 2013 2:16 PM - Last modified Aug. 24, 2023 11:41 AM