The Order to Put Out the Fire
In Turkmenistan’s Karakum Desert, a gas crater has been burning for decades despite repeated presidential orders to extinguish it. In this episode, we trace the uncertain origins of the Darvaza fire, the attempts to reduce it, and the much larger methane problem hidden across the country’s gas fields. Why does the world focus on one spectacular crater when the more consequential leaks are almost invisible?
The skinny
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