A massive fire broke out this evening under an elevated portion Atlanta's main interstate highway, I-85. The intense heat weakened and then brought down a segment of the highway. I suppose the mechanism was similar to the destruction of the World Trade Center towers. The Atlanta newspaper account is here:
http://www.ajc.com/news/traffic/breaking-bridge-collapses-during-massive-fire-injuries-reported/FRzANVZ9vgyWW2WZfyN6jI/ This will paralyze city traffic for months. The public schools downtown may close tomorrow. I bring this up here because preliminary indications are that the fire was caused by a fuel pipeline leak. In other words, this is yet another example of how dangerous chemical fuel can be. We are so used to the danger, we are blind to it. Despite high standards and rigorous safeguards, there are fires every day in every city caused by gasoline or leaking natural gas. Cold fusion would put an end to this sort of thing. It would also end the much greater dangers from global warming. One other issue about fossil fuel that has not even been addressed is the oxygen deficit caused by the use of it. I read a short article about this in a science magazine (Sci. Am.?). - Jed
