Mexican Oil Spill Leaves 100K Without Drinking Water

An oil spill in the Mexican state of Tabasco has left roughly 100,000 people without drinking water on Wednesday.

The spill, which occurred on Sunday, was reportedly the result of a Pemex pipeline being breached by oil thieves.

It polluted two rivers, forcing the shutdown of four water treatment plants, which initially left half a million people without drinking water.

Mayor of the state capital of Villahermosa, Humberto de los Santos Betruy, said the spill caused "heavy ecological damage."

Greenpeace Mexico said the spill, along with the Pemex rig explosion earlier this month that left at least four people dead, were further evidence of how risky and dirty the oil industry is. Gustavo Ampugnani, head of the group's energy and climate change campaign, further condemned the "blind pursuit of more oil that causes pollution of the lands, rivers, seas, and air of our cities" and that will "worsen climate change."

Greenpeace International's Arin de Hoogt wrote following the Pemex rig explosion: "It's time to expose the fossil fuel industry for what it really is; a mindless, out-of-control profit machine hell bent on making cash while sacrificing the welfare of our planet.

"It's time to show them that we know the answer to our energy needs lie in the sun and the wind, and no amount of polluting emissions will hide this reality anymore," he wrote.