{"667205":{"#nid":"667205","#data":{"type":"external_news","title":"Peat-based soil is an environmental nightmare. Try these alternatives.","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EPeat, the ingredient that makes bagged soil light and spongy, comes from wetlands. It can increase the amount of water soil holds onto while also, paradoxically, increasing its drainage ability \u2014 creating an ideal environment for nurturing plants. But while it does all of those things, extracting it is problematic because it strips the bogs it comes from of their carbon stores, and hinders their ability to keep storing carbon \u2014 both important parts of fighting climate change. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/profile\/Caitlin-Petro\u0022\u003ECaitlin Petro\u003C\/a\u003E, a research scientist in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;who studies peatlands and the plants in them,\u0026nbsp;explains that it can take millennia for just a few feet of peat to form.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EPeat, the ingredient that makes bagged soil light and spongy, comes from wetlands. It can increase the amount of water soil holds onto while also, paradoxically, increasing its drainage ability \u2014 creating an ideal environment for nurturing plants. But while it does all of those things, extracting it is problematic because it strips the bogs it comes from of their carbon stores, and hinders their ability to keep storing carbon \u2014 both important parts of fighting climate change. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/profile\/Caitlin-Petro\u0022\u003ECaitlin Petro\u003C\/a\u003E, a research scientist in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;who studies peatlands and the plants in them,\u0026nbsp;explains that it can take millennia for just a few feet of peat to form.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"34434","created_gmt":"2023-04-10 15:22:51","changed_gmt":"2023-04-10 15:22:51","author":"Renay San Miguel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","publication":"Washington Post","field_article_url":"","publication_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/home\/2023\/04\/05\/peat-soil-mixes-harm-environment\/","dateline":{"date":"2023-04-05T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2023-04-05T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"154","name":"Environment"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"166882","name":"School of Biological Sciences"},{"id":"185252","name":"Caitlin Petro"},{"id":"172957","name":"peat"},{"id":"175034","name":"peatlands"},{"id":"831","name":"climate change"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}