I think the lefties use the word “carbon” because it invokes the thought of soot and grim. It is used on purpose to distort the truth and influence the sheeple.
I agree.
By the way, soot is also an allotrope of carbon. And burning coal (especially incomplete combustion) can produce soot, which IS a carcinogenic pollutant. I for one would probably support EPA constraints designed to limit emissions of soot. (I think this problem was dealt with long ago, before the EPA became the committed enemy of industry and western society in general).
But you are right that ‘carbon’ is generally used by the left as a codeword for CO2, and for purposes of invoking an distorted mental image. And it is important not to allow an opponent to “distort the truth and influence the sheeple.”