Carbon
Some say our species is one of a kind in its possible to “destroy the planet,” but repeated catastrophic impacts of asteroids and explosive eruptions of megavolcanos have had far higher destructive consequences than any weapon devised by humans. And so we are left with carbon, the most versatile, most adaptable, most useful element of all. An exception may possibly be found in the abundant element silicon, which falls in the middle of the periodic table’s third row. Silicon is element 14, occupying the substantial position appropriate under carbon. Components sharing a column of the periodic table typically have similar...