Thinking about Laos.

"During the Vietnam war, the United Sates flew 580,000 bombing runs over Laos--an average of one every eight minutes for nine years. Today, Laotians live and die among 80 million unexploded munitions....Up to 30% of the bombs that were dropped did not detonate on impact and they remain volatile in the soil today.
....While munitions fell in hundreds of shapes, sizes and varieties, perhaps the most pernicious were the 'bombies'. More than 270 million of these cluster sub munitions were crammed into casings that opened in midair, scattering weapons across the land. They look like toys--yellow, green, brown, round like softballs or shaped like pineapples. Kids find them in the fields; villagers find them in the forest....Almost every day a Laotian is killed or maimed by unexploded ordinance.
....It could take centuries and $16 billion to clear Laos. The U.S. government donates about $3 million a year for bomb clearance here though it spent more than $2 million a day ($17 million in today's dollars) on the bombing themselves."
Quoted from January/February SIERRA Magazine pp 21-22.

Al's note: Laos is the approximate size of Minnnesota.

PS: It takes 1.5 million barrels of oil to make the plastic water bottles used in the United States in one year. January/February SIERRA Magazine p. 34