The Sustainability Principle
 of Energy

Home

What is a Prime Symbol?        

.

Home

The Power of Symbols

What is a Prime Symbol? 

Variations on the Wisdom of Confucius

How to Conserve the Potential

The Human Condition

General Theory 

Practical Application 

Index of denial/acceptance

 
Some Prime Symbols

Energy

Energy Efficiency

Power

Electricity

Greenhouse

Warming/Cooling

Science

Carbon

Atmosphere

Climate Change

Trace

Home

Home

 

What is a prime symbol? 

We use myriad symbols in our sentience of the universe. Every element of existence is only manifest to us as a symbol and if we have no symbol for an element then effectively it does not exist. We generate visual and tactile symbols of the sun, audio symbols of wind and water, smell symbols of other creatures, and taste symbols of plants. All these can be considered prime symbols for they are essential to survival. All work to generate images within us and in our societies that can sustain or destroy us.

This website is primarily concerned with a particular type of symbol: words, both written and spoken.

The definition of what constitutes a prime word symbol is arbitrary. This discussion defines a prime word symbol as a word that reflects the dominant elements of our worldview and frames our communications of how the universe(s) work. Prime candidates are, God, love and sex, as these play profound roles in our lives. However the focus of this discussion is limited to the establishment of a state of science with regard to our perceptions of the nature of energy and how Earth’s climate works. In this context the following symbols play vital roles in our discourse:

atmosphere
carbon
change
climate
conserve
cooling
electricity
energy
energy efficiency
environment
exponential
greenhouse
peak oil
power
potential
trace
science
sustain
warming
use

Each of these symbols is sufficiently powerful that our failure to conserve its potential deprives us and puts humanity at greater risk. The flawed use of some can even destroy civilisation. Major flawed use of all these symbols works to make such destruction almost inevitable.

Page last  updated: July 2010

 

TOP

 

.

.
.