Harrowing video shows the Gulf of Mexico on fire after an oil pipeline rupture. Democrats point to that video as evidence of a need to fund the Green New Deal.

• A fire raged on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico after an oil pipeline ruptured early Friday.
• Videos of the blaze bubbling up like molten lava went viral on social media.
• Democratic lawmakers used the incident to mock those who refuse to acknowledge the climate crisis.
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Democratic lawmakers mocked climate crisis deniers after an underwater oil pipeline in the Gulf of Mexico ruptured early Friday, setting the surface of the water ablaze.

The fire raged in the Ku Maloob Zaap oil field, located near the southern rim of the Gulf of Mexico, around 5:15 a.m. local time and was completely extinguished by 10:30 a.m., according to Mexico’s state-owned oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, also known as Pemex.

Videos of the blaze bubbling up like molten lava went viral on social media, with some users dubbing it as an “eye of fire” given the fire’s round shape.

-Brian Kahn (@blkahn) July 2, 2021

Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii, a proponent in the fight against the climate crisis, shared the video on Twitter with the caption: “bUT CAn wE aFFord CLimaTE aCtion.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has also championed legislation to address the climate crisis, also shared the video of the Gulf of Mexico fire, criticizing lawmakers who opposed her Green New Deal proposal.

“Shout out to all the legislators going out on dinner dates with Exxon lobbyists so they can say a Green New Deal is too expensive,” she tweeted with a thumbs-up emoji.

Representatives for Ocasio-Cortez and Schatz did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.