Peat bogs… 

• form a unique natural habitat , home to countless species of flora and fauna, many of which are at risk.
• store and filter 10% of the global freshwater resources.
• are carbon sinks -- storage site for carbon dioxide.  Removing peat from a bog releases carbon dioxide into the air which contributes to global warming.

- are not really readily renewable.   A typical peat extractor removes up to 22 cm (9”) a year, while a peat bog only regenerates at a depth of 1 mm (1/25”) per year.  Therefore, one year’s  extraction regrows in 220 years.
* are too useful in their natural state to be used for gardening when alternatives are available.  The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) in the U.K. has mandated that 90% of its own growing media requirements be peat free by 2010.  Further, they “consider the purchase of peat to be unacceptable for the primary use of soil incorporation and ground mulching.”