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While obviously the industry has reason to defend their practices, I have to say their position and practices seem reasonably sustainable, and that quite a few of the facts in Ken Druse's article are at best poorly researched.
Peat definitely has uses that are hard to replace, especially in soil-less mixes. Some people (many) certainly do mis-use it, but as an amendment to add organic material and improve soil texture and water-holding (in sandy soil) or drainage (in clay soil) it is useful, IMHO. It's also acidifying, which is useful for many plants. It is NOT a substitute for compost or fertilizer, nor does it make a good pure potting mix.
Thanks for the link! There are definitely 2 (or more) sides to this debate, as I found when writing this. I'm not sure I'm likely to replace my use of peat 100% with coir, but for me the combo mix seems to be working well this year. :-)
