This is certainly not the first time the Gulf of Mexico has suffered as a result of our oil-based economy. In June 1979, arguably the worst accidental oil spill in history took place in the Bay of Campeche in Mexico, when Pemex's exploratory well, Ixtoc 1, blew out and then leaked for nine months and 22 days, spilling approximately 3.3mn barrels of crude oil until it was capped in March 1980. Although the marine ecosystem was believed to have fully recovered some years later, local fishermen claim to still feel the effects.
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