The peatlands of Indonesia, formed over thousands of years, used to be a vast reservoir of carbon. But now deforestation has dried them out, and they are burning, releasing back into the atmosphere as much carbon dioxide as all the cars and trucks in the U.S. The question is how economic incentives to save the peatlands can outweigh the incentives for destroying them.

Andrew Higgins reports for the Washington Post November 19, 2009. [2]