Carbon And Its Domestication

by Mannion, A. M.

• ISBN13: 9781402039560
• ISBN10: 1402039565
• eBook ISBN(s): 9781402039584
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-03-31
• Publisher: Kluwer Academic Pub

Summary

Carbon is chemically versatile and is thus the body and soul of biological, geological, ecological and economic systems. Its appropriation by humans through diversion of its biogeochemical cycle has been a mainstay of development. This domestication is characterized by a number of thresholds: control of fire, development of agriculture, expansion of Europe, fossil-fuel use and biotechnology. All have exacted an environmental toll, not least being climatic change and biodiversity loss. Carbon management now and in the future is a '¬~hot' political issue.There is no existing book which focuses on the pivotal role of carbon in the environment and society and the ways in which carbon has been domesticated in time and space to generate wealth and political advantage. Students of environmental science, geography, biology and general science will find this work invaluable as a cross-disciplinary text.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	ix
List of Tables	xi
Preface	xiii
Acknowledgements	xv
Introduction	1	(22)
What is carbon?	2	(4)
Why is carbon so important?	6	(1)
Carbon and climate	7	(4)
Carbon and the environment in the last 3 million years	11	(3)
Carbon and technology through prehistory and history	14	(3)
Carbon and development	17	(4)
Carbon and the future	21	(2)
The Chemistry of Carbon	23	(36)
The mineral world	25	(2)
Organic compounds	27	(24)
The biogeochemistry of carbon	51	(8)
The Biology of Carbon	59	(40)
The web of life	60	(6)
Domain Archaea	66	(3)
Domain Bacteria	69	(3)
Domain Eukaryote	72	(10)
Viruses etc.	82	(1)
Vital processes	83	(11)
Food chains and food webs	94	(5)
The Geology of Carbon	99	(32)
Carbon, life and climate: the last 5 x 10 9 years	100	(20)
Sedimentary rocks	120	(2)
Coal	122	(3)
Oil (petroleum) and natural gas	125	(3)
Wetlands	128	(3)
The History and Consequences of Carbon Domestication	131	(32)
The harnessing of fire	133	(5)
The origins and spread of agriculture	138	(6)
Carbon exchanges during the Holocene	144	(5)
History of fossil-fuel use and industrialization	149	(7)
Pollution history	156	(3)
Biotechnology	159	(4)
The Geography of Carbon	163	(46)
World ecosystems	164	(17)
Marine ecosystems	181	(4)
The alteration of the world's biomes	185	(17)
Measures of human impact	202	(7)
The Politicization of Carbon	209	(40)
Initiatives 1860 to 1939	212	(6)
Initiatives 1945 to the early 1970s	218	(4)
Green politics	222	(2)
Petropolitics and oil crises	224	(1)
NGOs	225	(5)
UN, UNEP, international agreements and the Earth Charter	230	(5)
International initiatives on atmosphere/climate	235	(6)
The politics of biodiversity	241	(2)
Trade	243	(6)
Conclusion and Prospect	249	(38)
Conclusion	251	(13)
Prospect	264	(19)
Envoi	283	(1)
Addendum	284	(3)
References	287	(16)
Index	303