The Spooks Green Bona Fides

Spymasters Flash Their Green Bona Fides

April 25, 2011 - The Central Intelligence Agency is famously tight-lipped about its activities, from directing drone strikes in Pakistan to interrogating prisoners at Guantánamo Bay. But it is trumpeting what it’s doing to go green.

In a statement issued on Friday — Earth Day, ‘natch — America’s spymasters declared that their habit of shredding and burning vast quantities of classified documents, known as “burn after reading,” was not only safeguarding secrets but also protecting the planet.”Exhaust from the agency’s on-site incinerator generates steam to heat water at C.I.A. headquarters,” the statement said. “In addition to saving fuel, that process reduces the amount of waste — which would otherwise be destined for landfills — by nearly 1,000 tons per year.”

The agency also said it was increasing its recycling efforts, collecting more than three tons of plastic, glass, cardboard and other waste annually. {continued}