Are consumers responsible for the rainforest fires engulfing Indonesia?

Since late August, vast swaths of forests and peatlands across the archipelago of Indonesia have been engulfed in flames. Hundreds of thousands of people have been submerged in a haze of smoke so thick it can be seen from space. Over 500,000 have been forced to seek treatment for respiratory illness, and more than a dozen have died. In a matter of weeks, the fires have released more carbon than entire countries produce in a year. At their peak, the fires' daily emissions exceeded those of the entire U.S. economy.

The forests are burning to feed global demand for paper and palm oil -- an ingredient that is ubiquitous in many Western households. It's found in products like lipstick, dish detergent and Oreo cookies. And environmental activists say our role as consumers of palm oil implicates us directly in the catastrophe unfolding in Southeast Asia.

To find out more about the connection between palm oil and Indonesia's forest fires, Brent spoke with Lindsey Allen, executive director of the Rainforest Action Network.