The sheen of oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill nearing the beaches of Florida has given rise to public anger and frustration.
It remains to be seen whether this disaster results in any meaningful change in regulation for a second time.
In 1969, an oil well 9.7km off the coast of Santa Barbara ruptured. The spill stoked the nation's anger and helped give birth to the modern environmental movement.
The memories of the Santa Barbara spill are considered by environment groups to be a turning point in American environmental history.
Al Jazeera's Rob Reynolds reports on a spill that helped pave the "green movement" more than 40 years ago.
[June, 06, 2010]
