THE world’s peat bogs are haemorrhaging carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, accelerating global warming. Worse, the process appears to be feeding off itself, as rising atmospheric levels of CO2 are triggering further releases from the bogs.
That’s the claim of a British researcher this week who is warning that billions of tonnes of carbon could pour into the air from peat bogs in the coming decades. “The world’s peatland stores of carbon are emptying at an alarming rate,” says Chris Freeman of the University of Wales at Bangor. “It’s a vicious circle. The problem gets worse and worse, faster and faster.”…
