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In reply to the discussion: Indonesia is burning. The greatest environmental disaster of the 21st century. Ignored by US [View all]hedda_foil
(16,368 posts)28. The land itself is on fire.and the greenhouse gas emissions are larger than the U.S. emits
Nor do the greenhouse gas emissions capture the impact on the people of these lands. After the last great conflagration, in 1997, there was a missing cohort in Indonesia of 15,000 children under the age of three, attributed to air pollution. This, it seems, is worse. The surgical masks being distributed across the nation will do almost nothing to protect those living in a sunless smog. Members of parliament in Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo) have had to wear face masks during debates. The chamber is so foggy that they must have difficulty recognising one another.
Its not just the trees that are burning. It is the land itself. Much of the forest sits on great domes of peat. When the fires penetrate the earth, they smoulder for weeks, sometimes months, releasing clouds of methane, carbon monoxide, ozone and exotic gases such as ammonium cyanide. The plumes extend for hundreds of miles, causing diplomatic conflicts with neighbouring countries., attributed to air pollution. This, it seems, is worse. The surgical masks being distributed across the nation will do almost nothing to protect those living in a sunless smog. Members of parliament in Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo) have had to wear face masks during debates. The chamber is so foggy that they must have difficulty recognising one another.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/30/indonesia-fires-disaster-21st-century-world-media
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Indonesia is burning. The greatest environmental disaster of the 21st century. Ignored by US [View all]
Liberal_in_LA
Oct 2015
OP
Thanks for the article. Americans should have taken a hint as to the seriousness of these fires
Fred Sanders
Oct 2015
#1
From your link: How Indonesia's fires became one of the world's biggest climate disasters
Liberal_in_LA
Oct 2015
#8
Don't feel helpless. Sign petitions regarding Palm oil. Look for products using sustainably
Liberal_in_LA
Nov 2015
#39
Palm oil is the most widely consumed vegetable oil on the planet, and it is in about half of all
Liberal_in_LA
Nov 2015
#24
US manufacturers also have an interest in keeping this under wraps. $$ involved in finding substitut
Liberal_in_LA
Nov 2015
#34
No. Purposely set to clear land to plant Palm trees that produce Palm oil. Fires set where there is
Liberal_in_LA
Nov 2015
#29
“For 11 months, they enjoyed nice air from Indonesia and they never thanked us."
Liberal_in_LA
Nov 2015
#33
The land itself is on fire.and the greenhouse gas emissions are larger than the U.S. emits
hedda_foil
Nov 2015
#28
Well, we can take comfort in the fact that, at least, a few obscenely rich people
valerief
Nov 2015
#41
The capitalist system has caused such devastating environmental disaster. The bizarre quest
Dont call me Shirley
Nov 2015
#48
The rewards of conservation, cooperation and compassion are far more than materialistic.
Dont call me Shirley
Nov 2015
#53