May 27, 2014

A peat bog the size of England...

... just discovered in Congo.

How do things this size go undiscovered for so long?
"It's remarkable that there are parts of the planet that are still uncharted territory.... Few people venture into these swamps as they are quite difficult places to move around in and work in."
It took satellite photography to get a clue this thing existed.

26 comments:

Michael said...

Oh, great. Now the Africans can burn peat. Global happiness.

David said...

Unprecedented.

George M. Spencer said...

Mokele-mbembe!

The cryptid dinosaur that haunts the Congo's swamps.

Possibly caught on film Here At 0:43.

richlb said...

No doubt to be exploited by TEH KOCH BOTHERS!@!

iqvoice said...

According to wikipedia, as of 2010 new source(s) were still being discovered for the River Nile.

"Dr. Livingston, I presume?" was a quote from when, the 1800's?

Guildofcannonballs said...

"So we can reduce our uncertainty around the global carbon cycle before humans started changing it."

Uncertainty? This ain't no damn scientist. I've never been more certain of anything in my life (ht Walter Sobchak).

We need Michael Mann to scare some sense into this denier of 100% absolute consensus-ed certainty about any and all aspects of climate, weather, clouds, moisture, geology, astrophysics, and mostly physics.

I know what's going to happen in 1000 years (the range is 69 to 200 feet Bucko), and this jackhole says he don't know what happened yesteryear?

He needs to be silenced or our kids won't be paralyzed by fear as much as they need to be if we are to become Gods and save the planet.

The Crack Emcee said...

"How do things this size go undiscovered for so long?"

They keep it in their pants,….

Bob Boyd said...

I love the last line:

"They have a management plan to manage the area and also increase their livelihoods and incomes."

Pretty much sums up the whole history of the human race.

MadisonMan said...

Let me whip this out.

Wading through a peat bog for three weeks. No thanks. Remote sensing is the way to go, IMO.

F said...

"How do things this size go undiscovered for so long?"

Clearly you've never been to Congo. I remember in 1979 flying at night from Kinshasa (across the river from Brazzaville) to Bangui. For two hours there was not a light below us. This is some of the densest, most impenetrable jungle known to man.

And if there are any roads at all they frequently disappear during the rainy season so the only way to move about is by foot through sloggy mud. It is no accident the words "impenetrable" and "rain forest" so often appear together.



F said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
JackWayne said...

Which is why Peak Oil is just another stupid lefty trope.

Diamondhead said...

Reminds of the Seinfeld episode "The Limo" with the Nazi O'Brian...

"And the peat...ahhhhh, the peat."

Also, Laphroaig...maybe Congo could become known for a good peaty whiskey.

BarrySanders20 said...

I confess I don't know what the discovery of a massive peat bog means, but I am certain that it calls for living the way authoritarian leftists want me live.

Squints said...

Guinness for everybody.

Squints said...

Guinness for everybody.

Drago said...

crack: "They keep it in their pants,…."

Actually, they don't.

There is a significant number of black africans who believe AIDS can be cured by raping virgin girls.

http://www.scienceinafrica.com/old/index.php?q=2002/april/virgin.htm

"Ice People" have much to learn from the "Sun People".

Ipso Fatso said...

I predict that some day they will find an ancient tribe of Republicans in the City of Chicago!!!!

n.n said...

They see what they want to see. Never underestimate incentive in the course of scientific discovery. Most people outgrow their childish curiosity. There are few true scientists.

Drago said...

Ipso Fatso said...
I predict that some day they will find an ancient tribe of Republicans in the City of Chicago!!!!

If so, this tribe will have been hidden in a vault.

And Geraldo will be the one opening it.

And Crack will explain how this hidden tribe of republicans is actually responsible for the condition of the completely-democrat controlled Chicago.

Sam L. said...

Is it in the war zone that is The Congo?

traditionalguy said...

As a landscaper, Meade should be rejoicing to see that Peak Peat Moss has been postpone for another century or two.

A

The Godfather said...

It's a carbon sink, right? So is that where the global warming has been disappearing to over the last 17+ years?

viator said...

"It's remarkable that there are parts of the planet that are still uncharted territory."

What's true for peat bogs is true for oil.

Craig said...

Henry Morton Stanley fought on both sides in America's Civil War before he crossed the peat bog in search of Livingston.

mikee said...

"The Wild Geese" was a 1978 movie based on a novel by Carney, IIRC, in which a field geologist finds, but does not recognize, a mountain of platinum ore in a small African country.

The government is overthrown by mercenaries to promote locals more favorable to mining, but instead of following the plan the mercenaries give the country to a huge group of refugees.

Neither the mercenaries nor the new government know about the mineral wealth, and those in the mining industry who do know decide to let it sit for a while longer.

So back in the 1970s the world was so unenlightened that the idea of an undiscovered but vast mineral wealth was enough to inspire reading a thriller novel and seeing an adventure movie.