Internet Reacts To The Ocean Being On Fire, Which It Should Surely Not Be

Last Friday, the ocean was on fire, which is not something you typically expect the ocean to be.

🚨 Incendio registrado en aguas del Golfo de México

A 400 metros de la plataforma Ku-Charly (dentro del Activo Integral de Producción Ku Maloob Zaap)

Una válvula de una línea submarina habría reventado y provocado el incendio

Esta fuera de control hace 8 horas pic.twitter.com/KceOTDU1kX

— Manuel Lopez San Martin (@MLopezSanMartin) July 2, 2021

The footage above was taken in the Gulf of Mexico and was caused by a gas pipeline rupture. Firefighters were able to put the fire out after five hours using nitrogen and, incredibly, water.

🚨 Sobre el incendio registrado en aguas del Golfo de México, en la Sonda de Campeche, a unos metros de la plataforma Ku-Charly (dentro del Activo Integral de Producción Ku Maloob Zaap)

Tres barcos han apoyado para sofocar las llamas pic.twitter.com/thIOl8PLQo

— Manuel Lopez San Martin (@MLopezSanMartin) July 2, 2021

Somehow, the gas from the pipeline had "enough stream of natural gas [methane and probably other wet gas components like ethane and propane] in the one place to sustain the fire and keep it churning" in the middle of the ocean, according to CNET.

In the midst of extreme heat waves, hurricanes and other natural disasters, the image of the ocean literally on fire due to oil seemed the perfect encapsulation of the frustrating lack of drastic action on climate change. At the striking image, many social media users were reminded that they were told to stop using plastic straws to save the planet, though few figured the use of plastic straws caused the ocean to be on fire.

was it the plastic straws https://t.co/NG3QDN9smc

— slate (@PleaseBeGneiss) July 2, 2021

did i do this right pic.twitter.com/OfdsPpwKYR

— carina (adult human sbemail 💌) (@checarina) July 3, 2021

cool that corporations expect me to feel debilitating shame for leaving the water running while i brush my teeth but the oil industry can routinely set the fucking ocean on fire and face little to no repercussions https://t.co/nbQLXci2wm

— beanie baby divorce court (@tanklesbian) July 2, 2021

Luckily, the ocean is not on fire anymore, and apparently, the fire did not cause a spill, according to the executive director of Mexico’s oil safety regulatory agency. In the meantime, the world has to live with the fact that the ocean was on fire and that's just part of 2021.