NATION IN BRIEF : WASHINGTON, D.C. : End Oil ‘Addiction,’ Spill Report Urges

Perhaps 20 million gallons of oil were lost in transit in about 10,000 accidents since the wreck of the tanker Exxon Valdez caused an 11-million-gallon spill in Alaska nearly a year ago, the president of the Wilderness Society said. The society released a report, “100 Spills, 1,000 Excuses,” to make its point that “oil is an inherently messy business.” It recommended instituting safe-handling incentives for shippers, stepping up law enforcement relating to oil production and the environment and ending what it called the nation’s “addiction” to petroleum fuels.