Although some folks are ready to declare media interest in climate change at an end, there was an intriguing Reuters story out of the Cancun climate talks just before Christmas.

"Climate negotiators at UN talks agreed to consider letting rich countries cut their climate-changing emissions by 'rewetting' degraded peatlands, in the first official sign of global action on the issue," Reuters reported.

"It was a victory for conservationists who long fought for incentives in UN forestry and land-use proposals to entice governments to stop draining carbon-rich swamps."

Why is that important? Because peat soils are carbon sinks, absorbing about twice the carbon as all the planet's forests. And when you drain or burn them, they release what those wild-eyed eco-nazis at The Economist call "prodigious quantities of climate-changing carbon dioxide" into the atmosphere.

For instance, the Reuters story notes, "Indonesia, the third biggest carbon emitter, is No. 1 in peat pollution. The draining and burning of its swamps accounts for 900 millions tons of CO2 — roughly equivalent to the yearly emissions of Germany."

The solution, notes The Economist, "is simple and relatively cheap: stop draining wetlands and allow water to accumulate in them again."

Of course, there are some folks who contend that the rules should change to make it even easier to wipe out wetlands. But those folks may not believe in climate change, either -- despite abundant evidence otherwise.