Environment

The Wetlands are Irreparably Damaged

The news keeps getting worse.

NEW ORLEANS — The gooey oil washing into the maze of marshes along the Gulf Coast could prove impossible to remove, leaving a toxic stew lethal to fish and wildlife, government officials and independent scientists said.

Officials are considering some drastic and risky solutions: They could set the wetlands on fire or flood areas in hopes of floating out the oil.

They warn an aggressive cleanup could ruin the marshes and do more harm than good. The only viable option for many impacted areas is to do nothing and let nature break down the spill.

I still have some hope that there's an invention out there that will solve many of these problems. Yeah, that sounds desperate, but what can I tell you? Burning it sounds like a remarkably bad idea.