Our Oceans are on fire

In July 2021, a surreal image circulated across social media platforms: the surface of the ocean, near an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, was ablaze. Bright orange flames licked the waves as helicopters dropped water — water onto water — in a desperate attempt to snuff out the inferno. The so-called "eye of fire" became an instant symbol of ecological paradox and human negligence. While the phrase “our oceans are on fire” once might have been poetic hyperbole, today it’s disturbingly literal — and deeply symbolic.