Chandeleur Islands off the southeastern coast of Louisiana on Tuesday - Gerald Herbert/Associated Press
DAMN IT! I really hate to report this. And I take no solace in suspecting that the burning and sinking oil rig on Earth Day (!) was the archetypal message of the folly of our energy policy. Now as the Gulf of Mexico spill of 42,000 gallons per day spreads toward Louisiana, they are considering a "controlled burn" to save the mainland coast.
The NY Times reports: ‘Controlled Burn’ will be tried for Gulf Oil Spill.
[UPDATE: Dot Earth has started a discussion: Spill Response: Burn Baby Burn]
Yup! Controlled burns to generate energy in coal-fired plants, to clear forests for beef and soy and palm oil production, and now to clear a dangerous oil spill. How else is there to say it? Controlled burns are what have created our global heating problem.
Is oil pumped off-shore of Louisiana or off-shore of Rio de Janeiro the answer to the energy crisis?
[UPDATE 2: (NY Times April, 29) Now they are saying that the spill maybe 5 times larger than initially thought.]
Chris Graythen/Getty Images
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