We know what you're probably thinking. CARBON Based Lifestyle, a GREEN company? HA! Please allow us to clear the air before you get out the torches and pitchforks.

We know that reducing one's carbon footprint is all the rage and an important environmental movement, but it is important to remember that carbon is no one's enemy. What carbon footprint really means is the total set of greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions caused by an organization, event or product. For simplicity of reporting, it is often expressed in terms of the amount of carbon dioxide, or its equivalent of other GHGs, emitted. So this phrase is actually referring to carbon dioxide, and not carbon as would be found in our products.

On an ironic side note, plants “breathe” in carbon dioxide, which is necessary for photosynthesis (turning sunlight into food). So any campaign to reduce carbon dioxide can be looked at as trying to reduce the air supply to most plants on Earth. Not very “Green”, is it?

As stated above, carbon dioxide is a vital component to the life cycle of the Earth, but the problem we are facing is that we are creating too much of it (about twice as much as nature can use) through our use of fossil fuels like coal and oil . The main byproducts created from the combustion of fossil fuels (and other hydrocarbons) are water and carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is credited as a major contributor to global warming. Also, incomplete combustion of hydrocarbons also results in the emission of nitrogen oxides (greenhouse gas contributors) as well as carbon monoxide (an air-born pollutant that is deadly to humans and other animals).

On the “up” side, we will be out of fossil fuels quickly enough. Coal will be gone in about 148 years, natural gas in about 61 years, and oil in a measly 43 years. The down side of running out of these fuels is that it took nature millions of years to create them, and we burnt them up in about 150 years so we are clearly used to using more energy per day than nature can provide to us. With fossil fuels soon to go up in smoke, NOW is the time to get our energy usage in sync with the Earth.

Energy is provided to us in two main forms which spring forth a plethora of sustainable energy sources (energy which is naturally sustainable pretty much until the Sun implodes). These are the Sun and Gravity. From the Sun we get photovoltaics, heat engines, passive heating, biofuels, and wind power. From Gravity we get geothermal and tidal. The two pair up to give us hydropower. It is from these sources that we must pull if we wish to use energy at the same rate that it is provided to us, as well as reduce our over-production of greenhouse gasses.

So the burning question on everyone's mind is “Are your carbon fiber chopsticks 'Green'?” And, unfortunately, we must admit that they are not in pretty much all respects. One could make the argument that buying our chopsticks instead of wooden ones will save trees, especially because our chopsticks will far outlast their wooden counterparts, but that is a weak argument at best. The truth is that the synthesis of most of the carbon fiber and resins that are used in the production of carbon fiber composites originate from propylene, which is – you guessed it – a non-renewable hydrocarbon. Damn and blast it. To make matters worse, carbon fibers are produced using heat in excess of 2000 degrees Celsius, which we are guessing is not generated in an environmentally-friendly fashion.

Again, before the pitchforks get raised and the torches lit, let us try, in a small humble way, to redeem ourselves. While our raw material is decidedly Black, our manufacturing and office facilities are very much Green because CBL is an entirely solar-powered operation. Our lathe, saws, and computer equipment are run entirely from a photovoltaic system consisting of three solar panels, a charge controller, two large deep-cycle batteries, and an industrial-grade power inverter. The system is grid-independent and we run on it about 90% of the time, only switching to the grid when our NJ weather gets into one of its lets-rain-for-a-week kind of moods. Also, all waste (such as carbon fiber debris left from machining) is stored and will be used as lightweight filler in products soon to come.

So, are our carbon fiber chopsticks Green? No. But, our company is and we will continually take steps to be as environmentally friendly as possible. So, now that you have heard us out, you may decide for yourself whether or not to come at us with pitchforks and torches. Just keep in mind that neither one stands a chance against carbon fiber, and we might just be working on body armor as a future product – <wink>.