Carbon capture has become an intense site of conflict globally, fueled by trillions of dollars of public and private investment. Proponents argue that it is necessary to secure a livable future for humankind on our planet: staving off climate change, they hold, will require capturing and permanently storing carbon dioxide from industrial facilities and the ambient air. Critics counter that carbon capture is a corporate fantasy concocted by the fossil fuel industry to keep itself viable in a world of Net Zero climate targets. More is at stake in debates about carbon capture, however, than balancing climate math or unveiling corporate conspiracies. This research investigates carbon capture as a moral drama about what we owe to each other: as consumers of electricity produced by blue-collar Americans, as beneficiaries of energy systems that disproportionately harm already vulnerable populations, and as members of communities that include political others. Carbon capture exemplifies how our energy futures under construction can provide structures of opportunity for working Americans – or erode those opportunities and fuel political extremism.