Since I received this note on the Permaculture list from good friend Brock Dolman at the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center I felt I had to share it with all the Post Carbon community.
Keith

In my minutia world of semantics and language I must admit I feel
compelled to rant on a recurring pet peeve of mine about the current use of
the term/concept "Post Carbon".

I know that this is not your original phrasing, and so my intention is not
for any of you to take this personally, rather I offer my thoughts on this
for collaborative discussion, as you all are increasingly out in the world
spinning the good vision!!

Language has power and clarity is a good thing. Most people in this world
are confused about such issues as climate change and peak oil and such.
Think of the work of linguists Noam Chomsky and George Lakoff. Think of how
much it irks you when Bush's says "nukuler"?

As far as I can tell lately this 'post carbon' phrase around here is mostly
fueled by Julian Darley's Post Carbon Institute (who I have met and respect
as I thinker/activist), who I am fairly sure is from England, and as far as
I can tell they are accustomed in their colloquial parlance to use 'carbon'
as a synonym for petrol or fossil fuels, etc.

I get the point of peak oil and moving beyond fossil fuels - right? But
beyond or "Post Carbon" - literally is absurd language in my American
biologists mind! Biologists by definition study life and life is based on
carbon, what am I to study in a Post Carbon future?

Carbon is an element on the periodic chart. It is the foundational atomic
element of all life on this planet, except for a few strange sulfur based
critters in the oceanic trenches. Plants fix it from C02 gas through
photosynthesis. Store it as wood, fungus breaks it down. Compost happens -
humus rules, dude! Imagine, post - black carbon rich soils, that is what the
dust bowl already brought us. Organic gardening/farming is by definition
carbon based soil farming as defined by Sir Albert Howard. No graphite in
your pencil? What about diamonds?? Veggie oil and ethanol are carbon! On and
on and on...

What are 'post carbon' fuels - Nuclear - Hydrogen - solar - wind - hydro?

I wish to celebrate a carbon rich "organic" world that is based on
sustaining the living carbon cycle and getting off the dead carbon cycle,
but, in my mind, there is no post-carbon cycle. Lifecycle-probiotic or
Deathcycle-anti-biotic take your pick!

"Post Petroleum"- bring it on...But post carbon is post life... Which in
this age of Oilgarchy fossil fool driven extinctions is well underway.

Now Post Car-Ban, after we Ban-Cars, maybe that is what we need here??