Paul Hawken: The War Against Carbon Is a War Against Life

What if carbon isn’t the villain—but the key to saving the world?

In this mind-expanding conversation, Darin sits down with renowned environmentalist and visionary Paul Hawken to uncover the misunderstood story of carbon, the intelligence of nature, and how we’ve systematically disconnected from the wisdom that sustains life. This episode dives deep into climate, ancient knowledge, modern science, and what it means to truly regenerate the Earth—and ourselves.

 

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What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• 00:00 – Why this conversation about carbon is different

• 04:40 – The real reason carbon got villainized—and why it’s wrong

• 08:25 – Why we must "re-carbonize" the Earth, not decarbonize it

• 11:00 – The incredible intelligence of carbon and why it is life

• 13:40 – Indigenous wisdom and Western science—why we need both

• 17:30 – Why naming and separating things leads us away from truth

• 20:05 – Climate isn’t a crisis—it’s a mirror of the biosphere

• 23:00 – The human disconnection that’s destroying the planet

• 26:00 – We are the only species deregulating the climate

• 29:00 – Turning nature into an "asset class": the new danger

• 31:00 – Google, Meta, and the new extractive industry

• 33:30 – How our data addiction is connected to climate destruction

• 35:00 – The fungal internet: mycelia, intelligence, and nutrient trade

• 38:40 – How 14 million roots on a single rye plant feed the Earth

• 42:00 – Sound of soil: how healthy ecosystems literally speak

• 45:00 – Dead soil and the silence that follows chemical farming

• 47:00 – Fire as a regenerative force—not a destroyer

• 50:10 – Wildflowers, seed banks, and the secrets beneath the ash

• 53:10 – Purpose and meaning: the missing nutrients in modern life

• 56:00 – Awe, intelligence, and what soil can teach us about healing

• 59:10 – Why we’re not just disconnected—we’re spiritually lost

• 1:02:00 – Fossil fuels, energy addiction, and burning life

• 1:04:40 – How less can actually give us more

• 1:06:00 – Why the healthcare system is a symptom of sick soil

• 1:08:00 – From crisis to community: choosing regeneration

• 1:10:10 – Why abundance comes from creating life

• 1:13:00 – Fire ecology and Indigenous land management wisdom

• 1:16:00 – Final thoughts: we’re not screwed—we’re screwing ourselves

 

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Find More From Paul Hawken:

• Website: paulhawken.com

• Instagram: @paul.hawken

• Book: Regeneration: Ending the Climate Crisis in One Generation

• Organization: regeneration.org

 

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Connect with Darin Olien:

• Website: darinolien.com

• Instagram: @darinolien

• Book: Fatal Conveniences

 

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Key Takeaway:

"We don’t need to decarbonize the world—we need to re-carbonize the Earth through life." – Paul Hawken