Indigenous microbial systems offer systemic carbon capture pathways beyond industrial techno-fixes

Indigenous communities have stewarded hot spring microbiomes for millennia, recognizing them as part of reciprocal metabolic systems where waste is not discarded but repurposed—a principle central to land stewardship practices like Māori *kaitiakitanga* or Andean *ayni*. Western science’s extraction of these systems for industrial 'solutions' risks repeating colonial patterns of knowledge appropriation, where Indigenous innovation is reduced to a 'resource' for techno-scientific narratives. The omission of Indigenous consent and benefit-sharing in this research reflects a broader failure to acknowledge that microbial carbon conversion is not a novel discovery but a rediscovery of ancient ecological intelligence.

Hot spring microbiomes have been part of Earth’s carbon cycles for billions of years, with extremophiles evolving to metabolize CO2 under extreme conditions—a process that mirrors the deep-time resilience of Indigenous land practices. Historical records show that Indigenous societies, from the Amazon’s terra preta soils to the Māori *pā* systems, engineered carbon-capturing landscapes long before industrialization. The current 'discovery' of microbial CO2 conversion echoes 19th-century colonial narratives that framed Indigenous knowledge as 'primitive' while later co-opting it for industrial applications, such as the extraction of penicillin from Indigenous medicinal practices.

Cross-culturally, hot springs are sacred sites where microbial life is seen as a bridge between human and non-human worlds, such as the Japanese *onsen* traditions or the Quechua concept of *pachamama* (Earth mother) as a living, breathing entity. In contrast to the Western reductionist view of microbes as 'factories,' Indigenous epistemologies frame them as kin with agency, whose metabolic processes must be negotiated with rather than controlled. The Māori practice of *whakapapa* explicitly links microbial communities to human genealogy, requiring ethical reciprocity in their use—a dimension entirely absent from the Phys.org narrative.

Scientifically, the study confirms that extremophile microbiomes from hot springs possess enzymes (e.g., carbonic anhydrase) capable of catalyzing CO2 conversion at high temperatures and pressures, offering a thermostable alternative to mesophilic microbes. However, the research frames this as a 'breakthrough' while ignoring that similar microbial processes underpin natural carbon sinks like peatlands and deep-sea vents. The scientific community’s focus on industrial application risks overshadowing the need for systemic changes in production and consumption patterns, reducing a complex ecological solution to a narrow biotech fix.

Artistically and spiritually, hot spring microbiomes evoke metaphors of transformation and rebirth, from the Japanese *onsen*’s cleansing rituals to the Hindu concept of *pralaya* (cyclic dissolution and renewal). Indigenous art forms, such as Māori *whakairo* (carving) or Andean *textiles*, often depict microbial networks as sacred geometries, reflecting their role in sustaining life cycles. The Western scientific narrative strips this spiritual dimension, reducing microbial communities to 'bioreactors'—a loss that obscures the deeper cultural significance of these systems as living ancestors and teachers.

Future modelling must account for the scalability of microbial CO2 conversion within planetary boundaries, avoiding the trap of techno-optimism that assumes industrial growth can continue indefinitely with 'green' add-ons. Scenario planning should integrate Indigenous land stewardship models, which demonstrate that carbon neutrality is achievable through circular economies rather than technological fixes. The risk is that microbial solutions become another form of 'greenwashing,' allowing industries to delay systemic transitions while claiming progress—a pathway that could exacerbate ecological collapse in the long term.

Marginalized communities, particularly Indigenous peoples and those in the Global South, bear the brunt of industrial pollution yet are excluded from decision-making on 'solutions' like microbial carbon capture. Their knowledge systems—such as the Quechua *ayllu* or African *ubuntu* philosophies—offer holistic frameworks for waste-to-resource systems that Western science has only recently begun to acknowledge. The Phys.org narrative reinforces a top-down approach where solutions are designed by elite institutions for corporate benefit, rather than co-created with those most affected by industrial waste.