What Does the Gulf of Mexico Fire Mean for the Rest of the World?

After viewing the scene of the Gulf of Mexico fire, which many have described as otherworldly, something straight out of a movie, a sight compared to a black hole, force field, something of the future, but not the present, I was left with some thoughts. Why is the Gulf of Mexico fire of any importance? What could the Gulf of Mexico fire mean for the future of the world? For those who find themselves asking similar questions, an explanation might be in order. On July 3rd, 2021 at around 5:15 am an oil gas pipeline from the Mexican gas company named “Pemex” leaked in the Gulf of Mexico, about 90 kilometers from the coast of Campeche. It has been reported that12 inches in diameter of gas possibly leaked, which may have started the fire. It took 5 hours to tame, control, and eventually extinguish the fire. So why did this fire even occur in the first place? Well, the simple answer is the continual use, construction, and placement of oil pipelines. If oil wasn’t seen as much of a necessity as it is perceived to be by those profiting off of oil, such as oil companies like “Pemex” and governments including the U.S.government which has provided oil companies, specifically Pemex with $16.4 billion since 1968, oil drilling and oil pipeline practices wouldn’t have continued to occur on places once untouched by humans let alone metal such as the seafloor. This leads us to ask what the importance of this situation is. This Gulf of Mexico fire is an indicator of the danger and harm oil pipelines cause regardless of their location. Fortunately, which is ironic to say since there is nothing fortunate about this circumstance, this oil pipeline burst in a place uninhabited by people, though inhabited by sea wildlife which most likely left a devastating scene and everlasting change for those that once inhabited that location underwater, the ecosystem. In regards to the future, this fire can be seen as a possible predictor of what will continue to occur: environmental damage caused by oil pipelines, whether on land or in water. The extremity of this oil pipe burst scene is just one of the first of many possible situations that will occur in the future. That is, of course, if oil drilling, the construction of oil pipelines, and the overall use of oil continue………

“Meanwhile the people in power call themselves “climate leaders” as they open up new oil fields, pipelines and coal power plants — granting new oil licenses exploring future oil drilling sites. This is the world they are leaving for us.”- Greta Thunberg