Paul Post’s article “Fuel for Debate” [July/August 2015] quoted Matt Dempsey, a spokesman for the Independent Petroleum Association of America, responding to a report by environmental groups about the threat to Lake Champlain caused by trains carrying oil tankers along the lakeshore.
Dempsey said: “The biggest issue with this report is that it doesn’t distinguish between a risk and a hazard.” This brings to mind a quote from Dr. Priscilla Laws of Columbia, Maryland, to the effect that “It is better to turn off the tap than mop up the floor!” In this case the risk is transporting oil by train, and my vote is for turning off that tap.
Ajax Eastman, Baltimore, MD
