Earth Accounting: The Protracted Contest Over Where we are When we Connect at a Distance

The long track record of Earth accounting, the accounting of planetary existence, spans from the pre-historical and figurative to the computational and technical, and across scientific, financial, religious, legal, and political accountings. Despite the pervasiveness and richness of Earth accounting, a dedicated form of Earth accounting scholarship has failed to materialise. I explore reference points for developing such scholarship in the observation of what I describe as orbital and kinship (orb and kin) positions in Earth accounting. These positions place us in relationships of assessment and evaluation (orb) and understanding and resonance (kin) when connecting us with planetary existence. In the absence of an unambiguous trajectory of development, the patterns and dynamics in the distribution of orb and kin positions in Earth accounting practice reveal a long-running but mostly muted contest over how we articulate the world we live in and connect with one another through accountings. The contested character of Earth accounting is muted by the division of labour between specialised groups of Earth accountants but becomes evident in moments in which collective decisions are pending.