Down and Out in the Gulf of Mexico; April 1995; Scientific American Magazine; by Schneider; 1 Page(s)

People have long criticized oil companies for the accidental release of oil into the sea, but over the past decade a strange wrinkle has developed in the banner of environmental protection. Some scientists have begun to wonder whether drilling in the Gulf of Mexico could threaten marine life by, strangely enough, reducing oil leaks.

This curious twist results from two separate advances. Oil and gas developers have been moving drilling operations farther offshore, enticed by immense oil and gas fields previously thought to lie in water too deep to be economically tapped. At the same time, researchers have been uncovering unexpected richness and diversity in deep-dwelling marine life.