The Most Interesting Oil in the World
Gastropod
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The Impact of Palm Oil Plantations in Southeast Asia
The oil palm grows right around the equator in southeast asia. The soil under these rain forests contains lots of peat, which is sort of swampy, decomposed plant matter built up over thousands of years. And when the plantation companies go in there, they drain that peat because you need dry soil to plant your trees in. So they're already like much drier conditions across this area where they're putting in plantations. Then they often will burn ina, so of slash and burn agriculture to clear it before planting. In an elnina year, these things will just catch fire and burned for miles and miles.
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