The CIA's Earth Day plan: Burn more documents

Every now and then, you get a press release that breaks new ground in the areas of creativity and hilarity. This is one of those times. Yesterday, the CIA sent out an Earth Day press release highlighting the agency's environmentally friendly initiatives. 

Their plan? Burning documents. 

Seriously. You can't make this stuff up. The release said: 

"The Central Intelligence Agency’s practice of shredding and burning classified papers—often referred to in movies and books as “burn after reading”—is one of several ways the CIA conserves energy, reduces its impact on the environment, and lowers costs through its sustainability efforts."

But, wait, there's more: 

"Exhaust from the Agency’s on-site incinerator generates steam to heat water at CIA Headquarters. 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." 

1,000 tons of burned documents per year?! 

I've seen a lot of silly Earth Day press releases (mostly of the pie-in-the-sky variety) but the CIA's boasting of burning tons of classified documents in an on-site incinerator is the funniest yet. 

Here's the full press release.