Palm Oil: 'Worse than Crude'

Indonesia is in a race towards disaster. They're wiping out precious rainforest (and peatland) to make palm oil. It's happening so fast, a Greenpeace rep told NPR, Indonesia is experiencing "the fastest and the worst deforestation rate in the history of humankind."

Of course, biofuel demand is part of the problem, as Pound360 blogged a few months back.

The destruction of rainforests in Indonesia is so severe, it ranks the country third (behind number two China and the champion United States) as the world's biggest producers of greenhouse gas. The problem is also threatening endangered species like orangutans and Sumatran white tigers.

Check out the NPR site to stream the clip, "Worse Than Crude: The Case Against Palm Oil."

Go here to learn more about how today's biofuel mania will choke us (or bake us) to death tomorrow.

(Photo: Marco Schmidt)