6 ms·
It is also a fantastic carbon sink. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/02/21/headway/peat-carbon-climate-change.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/
by _puk 1mo ago
It is also a fantastic carbon sink.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/02/21/headway/peat-carbon-climate-change.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/02/21/headway/peat-...
"Although peatlands make up just 3 percent of land on Earth, they store twice as much carbon as all the world’s forests combined."
Nice it was historically just dug up and the leftovers turned into expensive holiday homes.
- psjs 1mo agoIf you add enough heat, pressure and (geological) time it becomes coal!
- arjie 1mo agoUnfortunately the reverse is also true: polderization and exposing the peat to the air reverses that sink process. Single digit percentage of Dutch greenhouse emissions come from this. Fortunately, they are depolderizing and hopefully much of the Netherlands is given back to the sea so that environmental interests are preserved.
- mcv 1mo agoIt takes a very long time to form, however. It's mostly another source of carbon that gets added to the atmosphere.