Carbon rift is a theory attributing the input and output of carbon into the environment to human capitalistic systems. This is a derivative of

Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

's concept of

metabolic rift Metabolic rift is a theory of ecological crisis tendencies under the capitalist mode of production that sociologist John Bellamy Foster ascribes to Karl Marx. Quoting Marx, Foster defines this as the "irreparable rift in the interdependent proc ...

. In practical terms, increased commodity production demands that greater levels of

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...

(or CO₂) be emitted into the

biosphere The biosphere (), also called the ecosphere (), is the worldwide sum of all ecosystems. It can also be termed the zone of life on the Earth. The biosphere (which is technically a spherical shell) is virtually a closed system with regard to mat ...

via

fossil fuel A fossil fuel is a flammable carbon compound- or hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the buried remains of prehistoric organisms (animals, plants or microplanktons), a process that occurs within geolog ...

consumption. Carbon rift theory states that this ultimately disrupts the natural

carbon cycle The carbon cycle is a part of the biogeochemical cycle where carbon is exchanged among the biosphere, pedosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere of Earth. Other major biogeochemical cycles include the nitrogen cycle and the water cycl ...

and that this "rift" has adverse effects on nearly every aspect of life. Many of the specifics regarding how this metabolic carbon rift interacts with capitalism are proposed by Brett Clark and Richard York in a 2005 article titled "Carbon Metabolism: Global capitalism, climate change, and the biospheric rift" in the journal ''Theory and Society''. Researchers such as Jean P. Sapinski of the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

claim that, despite increased interest in closing the carbon rift, it is projected that as long as capitalism continues, there is little hope of reducing the rift. Both

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. Ab ...

and the emission of

greenhouse gas Greenhouse gases (GHGs) are the gases in the atmosphere that raise the surface temperature of planets such as the Earth. Unlike other gases, greenhouse gases absorb the radiations that a planet emits, resulting in the greenhouse effect. T ...

es have been linked to increased atmospheric CO₂ levels. Carbon rift theory states that these are the result of human production through capitalistic systems. There are proposed solutions to climate change such as geoengineering proposed in the December 2015

Paris Agreement The Paris Agreement (also called the Paris Accords or Paris Climate Accords) is an international treaty on climate change that was signed in 2016. The treaty covers climate change mitigation, adaptation, and finance. The Paris Agreement was ...

. However, some argue that the capitalist mode of production is at fault for the emission of greenhouse gas and that solutions must be found to this issue before climate change itself can be addressed. Carbon rift theory shouldn't be confused with alternative explanations for climate change, which attribute the causes of the climate change to factors independent of human activity. Such explanations include the Chaotic Solar System Theory and that increased water vapor is responsible for climate change. Capitalism and human activity are not mutually exclusive explanations for climate change, because capitalism is a form of organization of human societies.

Summary

Greenhouse gas emissions

Carbon rift is a result of CO₂ gas being released into the environment by human sources, with the theory focusing specifically on capitalistic ones. In 2014,

consumption resulted in nearly 36 billion metric tons of CO₂ finding its way into natural sinks such as the atmosphere, land, and oceans. This transfer of carbon from the burning of fossil fuels into the biosphere is the primary human-driven cause of

greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities intensify the greenhouse effect. This contributes to climate change. Carbon dioxide (), from burning fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, oil, and natural gas, is the main cause of climate chan ...

and is closely related to the unchecked behavior of capitalism.

Deforestation

Another contributing factor to carbon rift is the continual

of the Earth's forests. In doing so, humankind is not only releasing carbon into the biosphere but removing one of the primary ways that carbon is naturally re-absorbed into the carbon cycle. Deforestation can both be tied to having large effects on greenhouse gas emissions (specifically, carbon dioxide) and to capitalism's continual disregard for its use of the truly limited resource represented by the forests. Thus, we have a tie between capitalism, deforestation, and carbon. This is the metabolic pathway defined by carbon rift.

Negative effect on humanity

As the carbon rift continues to grow, the ecosystems of the

continue to experience detrimental effects. One of the readily observable examples is the

acidification Acidification may refer to: * Ocean acidification, decrease in the pH of the Earth's oceans * Freshwater acidification, atmospheric depositions and soil leaching of SOx and NOx * Soil acidification, buildup of hydrogen cations, which reduces the ...

of the world's oceans. This occurs when carbon dioxide is absorbed by seawater, lowering its pH. Since the start of the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

, which Marx explicitly ties to capitalism, oceans have experienced a 30% increase in acidity. This acidification and resulting

calcification Calcification is the accumulation of calcium salts in a body tissue. It normally occurs in the formation of bone, but calcium can be deposited abnormally in soft tissue,Miller, J. D. Cardiovascular calcification: Orbicular origins. ''Nature M ...

of biological organisms are in part responsible for a decline of fishing as an industry and viable food source. The enlarging carbon rift could result in poorer conditions for human society over time.

Political and economic implications

Carbon rift plays into a larger discussion of

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

caused by humans—a topic with stark political division. In the United States, the right end of the political spectrum tends to either deny/downplay climate change or attribute it to non-human causes, while people on the left stress the dangerous effects it has on the planet and society. While the theory of carbon rift is not particularly well-known, these political divisions transfer to opinions on carbon rift because the theory operates under the belief that reliance on capitalist modes of production is the cause of increased carbon dioxide emissions.

Geoengineering

The small amount of political and economic analysis that has been done on carbon rift discusses the theory’s relation to

geoengineering Geoengineering (also known as climate engineering or climate intervention) is the deliberate large-scale interventions in the Earth’s climate system intended to counteract human-caused climate change. The term commonly encompasses two broad cate ...

. While geoengineering is still in the development stage as both a topic and solution to climate change, the December 2015

highlighted “

negative emissions technologies Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is a process in which carbon dioxide () is removed from the atmosphere by deliberate human activities and durably stored in geological, terrestrial, or ocean reservoirs, or in products.IPCC, 2021:Annex VII: Glossar ...

”. These technologies aim to either “remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere” or “reduce the amount of solar radiation that hits the earth’s surface.Sapinski, Jean Philippe. "Managing the Carbon Rift: Social Metabolism, Geoengineering, and Climate Capitalism." Academia.edu. N.p., Aug. 2016. Web. 21 Feb. 2017. Some scientists and advocacy groups warn that geoengineering will have dangerous, irreversible effects on human society. Furthermore, there is no way to fully test the accuracy of these technologies before launch, making the risk even greater. The 2013 film

Snowpiercer ''Snowpiercer'' () is a 2013 Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic action thriller film based on the French climate fiction graphic novel ''Le Transperceneige'' by Jacques Lob, Benjamin Legrand and Jean-Marc Rochette. The f ...

offers a grim, politicized portrayal of the possible negative effects of

climate engineering Geoengineering (also known as climate engineering or climate intervention) is the deliberate large-scale interventions in the Earth’s climate system intended to counteract human-caused climate change. The term commonly encompasses two broad cate ...

. However, other researchers support the develop of such technologies, as they believe their necessity is inevitable. These researchers claim that the climate of capitalistic growth will not falter and greenhouse gas emissions will continue to rise. Critics of geoengineering emphasize that development of such technologies does not address the cause of carbon rift. Jean Sapinski from the University of Oregon defines the root cause as the “capitalist mode of production and the

growth imperative Growth imperative is a term in economic theory regarding a possible necessity of economic growth. On the micro level, it describes mechanisms that force firms or consumers (households) to increase revenues or consumption to not endanger their inc ...

it entails”. The extent of carbon rift relates directly to the dominant economic system and the political institutions that reinforce said system.Sapinski 2016, p. 4. Essentially, those who find fault in the capitalist system are more likely to believe carbon rift cannot be treated effectively without tackling capitalism first.

Counterarguments and opposition

Carbon rift theory, as a subtopic of both Marxist metabolic theory and climate change, has inherited dissenting viewpoints from both its parent topics. Detractors claim exactly the opposite of carbon rift theory: human production does not have an appreciable effect on the carbon emissions in the biosphere. Since carbon rift theory has not yet made it into the mainstream lexicon, it is not often attacked directly by its detractors, but its concepts are. A notable individual that believes that climate change and human carbon emissions are unrelated is

Patrick Moore Sir Patrick Alfred Caldwell-Moore (; 4 March 1923 – 9 December 2012) was an English amateur astronomer who attained prominence in that field as a writer, researcher, radio commentator and television presenter. Moore's early interest in astro ...

, of

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...

fame. Other theories that explain the growing carbon rift (but exclude capitalism as a contributing factor) are the Chaotic Solar System theory, the claim that carbon is wrongly blamed for the greenhouse effects of water vapor and that the sun is causing global warming. These together are referred to as Non-Consensus views, and lack reliable scientific evidence.

References

{{Reflist Environmental terminology