Peat contains large amounts of carbon from dead plants, that isn't directly exposed to the oxygen in the air (due to peat being found in bogs, ie, submerged wet

Peat contains large amounts of carbon from dead plants, that isn't directly exposed to the oxygen in the air (due to peat being found in bogs, ie, submerged wetlands). What people claim is that merely exposing carbon to the air produces carbon dioxide. A lot of people gloss over this, because its the combination of two facts that govern this: first, no, if you just had a pile of pure carbon sitting out, it wouldn't evaporate into thin air without significant energy input; second, peat bogs store 10x (or more) carbon per unit of land than anything else. The only argument that really should be given, tbf, is that a lot of the peat we harvest is not renewable, and unless you take specific actions, you wipe the moss species out from that location. Companies that harvest peat from renewably grown bogs should be the only peat we're buying. Also, peat isn't the only source of spongy and fiberous soil amendments: we should also be using coconut coir. This is the outer (and otherwise useless) husks of coconuts, almost a million tons of it is produced every year. Want a good potting/raised bed mix that actually performs well? 4 parts Sphagnum peat from a renewable source, 2 parts coconut peat, 1 part perlite, 1 part vermiculite. Indoors or in pots or buckets, it can be used straight. In a bed, mix half and half with good manure, not the bagged stuff at the big box store (or, if you have to, Black Kow). Don't buy bagged potting mix, but if you absolutely must, over pay for Pro-mix, and see if you can find their CC40 blend.