In another note from the "potentially more harm then good" file a federal judge in Montana has ruled that the U.S. Forest Service has to look into the toxicity of the fire retardant it routinely uses to douse forest fires across the country.  

Judge Donald Molloy ruled that the current environmental assessment permitting the unrestricted use of the toxic chemicals is inadequate because federal biologists have found the fire retardant jeopardizes rare plants and endangered species when it lands in creeks and lakes.  

The case was brought by the Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics (FSEEE), which pointed out that more than half of the 20 million gallons of the fire retardant used by the agency is used in California and the windy conditions there prevents most of it from even reaching its intended location.  The retardant is a mix of water and fertilizer that somehow helps put out fires.  

This sounds somewhat similar to the toxic oil dispersant that B.P. dumped all over the Gulf, ignoring the warnings of scientists and biologists that it might be more harmful then the oil itself.  Ahh yes.  We can sure engineer ourselves right out of the environmental problems we cause.  As long as the houses are protected and the beaches are clean…that's what really matters right?

For the full fire retardant story see The Statesman Journal