More hocus-poicus.

"...southeast Asian island nation the third largest source of CO2 on Earth, behind China and the United States". No, the the leading source of CO2 on Earth is the Pacific Ocean, followed by the Atlantic Ocean, then the Indian Ocean. The planet's natural vegetation (even as untouched by humans!) is another much larger source of Earth's CO2. Separate countries' collected tally of exhausts, cow farts, electric power plants and felled timber aren't even in the ball park when compared against the planet's natural CO2 emissions.

"All forests release CO2 when logged". Yeah, but all forests also release CO2 when NOT logged! Like I release CO2 when I ride my pushbike to work or shopping, but my car releases CO2 also when I use that vehicle instead.

Biofuels are essentially immoral and appallingly inefficient, because they remove the physical sustenance from humans in order to feed not just combustion-engined machines but, more importantly, the stupid, brutal machine of monetarist imperialism. Indonesia got roped into debt by usurers in the IMF/WB orbit, therefore biofuel and deforestation became some of the quickest and surest ways that Indonesia could make the repayments to that imperialist system.

Biofuels were always just another greedy pursuit by bubble-monetarists keen to manipulate and control every aspect of human trade - in this case by harnessing food production to the yoke of imperialist petrodollars.

Western NGO parasites and their local toadies usually just help perpetuate that system of gross injustice, by avoiding and obscuring the strategic designs behind such global dynamics of trade, political discourse and diplomatic coercion. Knudson's simplistic and often vague piece is not much different in those respects.

How dare anyone criticise the Third World darling of the West! Hilary Clinton said as much on her whirlwind ultra-grinning Indonesian 'democratic success story' tour in the last day or so!

That other Indonesian success story, General/President Suharto, slaughtered up to a million left-wingers in 1966, and another several hundred thousand Timorese/Acehians/West Papuans on the road to creating the brave new neo-liberal paradise that allowed Indonesia to raze its rainforests, oppress its people, corrupt its institutions and brutalise its independence movements.

What's a few palm trees and orangutans, when there are massive profits to be made in the name of environmental sanctimony?