Watch This Gas Pipeline and On-The-Nose Metaphor Burn

A fossil gas pipeline explosion in the petrochemical hub of La Porte, Texas sent flames towering into the sky on Monday, offering an all-too-apt metaphor up for us to enjoy. On a day when much of central Europe is under water thanks to the warmer atmosphere’s ability to hold more moisture, and wildfires out west continue to scorch the landscape (though with some progress made), the screeching inferno of combusting carbon offered yet another sorta-obvious reminder that continuing to center our entire society around moving dangerous chemicals around in order to burn them later on purpose may have some drawbacks.

The pipeline was shut off by its owner, Dallas-based Energy Transfer, though the company said it would still take through Monday and possibly into Tuesday before the gas in the line burned itself out. This too was deemed “a tad overwrought” by one area blogger.