A train that derailed and exploded in rural Alabama late last week was carrying roughly 2.7 million gallons of crude oil. The head of the rail company, Genesee & Wyoming, said the train included 90 cars carrying 30,000 gallons of oil each. About 25 cars derailed, dumping oil into the wetlands and sending flames shooting 300 feet into the sky. While the incident gained relatively little mainstream attention due to a lack of injuries and claims it did not pose a major environmental risk, Reuters called it “the most dramatic [accident] of its kind in the United States since trafficking of crude by rail began to increase with the growth of shale oil production three years ago.”