false 2437578 1 <div><div>The story of carbon&#8212;the building block of life that is, ironically, humanity&#8217;s great threat .<br>It could be said that all of us are a little alien&#8212;our bodies&#8217; carbon atoms first shot forth from supernovas billions of years ago and far, far away. Carbon has always been the ubiquitous architect and chemical scaffolding of life and civilization; indeed, all living things draw carbon from their environments to stay alive, and the great cycle by which carbon moves through organisms, ground, water, and atmosphere has long been a kind of global respiration system that helps keep Earth in balance. And yet, when we hear the word today, it is more often than not in a crisis context: carbon dioxide emissions have sped up the carbon cycle; chlorofluorocarbons are destroying the ozone layer and warming the planet; the volatile Middle East explodes atop its stores of volatile hydrocarbons; carbohydrates threaten obesity and diabetes.<br>In <i>The Carbon Age</i>, Eric Roston evokes this essential element, its journey illuminating history from the Big Bang to modern civilization. Charting the science of carbon&#8212;how it was formed, how it came to Earth and built up&#8212;he chronicles the often surprising ways mankind has used it over centuries, and the growing catastrophe of the industrial era, leading us to now attempt to wrestle the Earth&#8217;s geochemical cycle back from the brink. Blending the latest science with original reporting, Roston makes us aware, as never before, of the seminal impact carbon has, and has had, on our lives.</div></div> 2444766 24 6 2008 The Carbon Age: How Life's Core Element Has Become Civilization's Greatest Threat total:12|5:2|4:7|3:3|2:0|1:0| 12 47 77 5 3 0 false false Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 29 09:04:13 -0700 2008 Sun Sep 07 11:10:05 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Mar 04 18:34:59 -0800 2009 Wed Mar 04 18:35:44 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Wed Oct 22 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 29 23:53:57 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 22 11:17:37 -0700 2008 Cosmology, physics, chemistry, ecology, climate -- it's all here, woven together to explain our world -- how it happened and where it's going.

]]> 4 0 false false Wed Feb 04 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Jul 25 11:46:33 -0700 2008 Wed Feb 04 11:11:56 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Sun Dec 28 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Aug 23 10:25:19 -0700 2008 Sun Dec 28 10:06:35 -0800 2008 Chapters 6 through 9 are outstanding for biologists.]]> 0 0 false false Thu Sep 24 19:33:32 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 24 19:33:32 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Thu Jul 23 12:24:34 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 23 12:24:34 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Thu Oct 08 08:55:39 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 10 08:50:19 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 08 08:55:39 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Fri May 15 10:57:29 -0700 2009 Fri May 15 10:57:29 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Thu May 07 13:15:55 -0700 2009 Thu May 07 13:15:55 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Mon Apr 20 10:14:33 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 20 10:14:33 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Apr 19 22:46:41 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 19 22:46:41 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat Apr 11 14:59:32 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 11 14:59:32 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat Apr 04 18:25:24 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 04 18:26:36 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Thu Mar 26 07:46:38 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 26 07:46:38 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Tue Mar 17 10:30:12 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 17 10:30:12 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Tue Feb 10 05:56:07 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 10 05:56:07 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Mon Feb 02 11:49:33 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 02 11:49:33 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sat Jan 10 15:10:35 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 10 15:10:35 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Tue Jan 06 16:35:58 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 06 16:36:27 -0800 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=2437578