Indonesia fact of the day

So far this year, Indonesia’s fires have released more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than all the fossil fuels burned annually in Germany. On at least 38 days in September and October, Indonesia’s fires were spewing more daily CO2 than the entire United States economy.

That is from Brad Plumer, and this remains an under-reported story.  The lesson in Singapore — a victim of the toxic haze — is that the country could be brought to its knees rather readily.  The more general lesson is that there are plenty of potential environmental catastrophes which we, in the ordinary course of debate, are barely aware of.

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