OLD TRICKS NEVER, EVER FADE AWAY.

St. Louis may seem a long way from the environmental tragedy going on in the Gulf of Mexico. Yet, for me it seems closer. This great Mississippi River that runs along our banks has been married to the Gulf a long time. The River feeds the wetlands that give shelter to a Universe of living creatures who in turn protect and feed fish, fowl, people and the Gulf waits expectantly for the River to nourish it.

It seemed to me, that a moratorium for offshore drilling could provide a respite from some of the cruelty we have viciously unleashed on what was once an environmental and geographic marvel. It could also provide time to ask ourselves, how far should we push the technological envelope and for what reason?

So it was with horror that I read Ian Urbina's report (NYT 6-24) that BP, three miles off the coast of Alaska ".. is moving ahead with a controversial and potentially record setting project to drill two miles under the sea and then six to eight miles horizontally to reach what is believed to be a 100-million-barrel reservoir of oil under federal waters.

"State and federal environmental permits have been granted as an 'on shore' project: because it sits on an artificial island - a 31-acre pile of gravel in about 22 feet of water - built by BP. BP has yet to file its final application to federal regulators to begin drilling, which it expects to start in the fall."

The trick of "creating land" with gravel is not new. It can be seen by the number of existing businesses, piers and homes built on gravel up and down the Inland Water Way. But this one takes the cake! Maybe federal and state regulators ought to take a trip along the Inland Water Way before they grant anymore waivers for BP's "off shore" drilling.