Natural bacteria are cleaning up the BP oil spill

The BP oil spill is dissipating faster than expected. Why? One reason is bacteria. From today's NYT:

"Scientists said the rapid dissipation of the surface oil was probably due to a combination of factors. The gulf has an immense natural capacity to break down oil, which leaks into it at a steady rate from thousands of natural seeps. Though none of the seeps is anywhere near the size of the Deepwater Horizon leak, they do mean that the gulf is swarming with bacteria that can eat oil."

When I attended Jackson Landers' deer hunting seminar earlier this year (see here and here), we learned how deer can't immediately eat as much as they want of a new food supply (say, acorns) -- it can take a few days to grow the required bacteria in their stomachs.

Makes you wonder about all the beneficial bacteria we kill off with the overuse of antibiotics.

Comments

Anti-bacterial soap is the

Submitted by Paleobeast on Wed, 07/28/2010 - 20:47.

Anti-bacterial soap is the absolute worst! We have stations installed around the office for constant handwashing to prevent the spread of H1N1. We even received training on how to wash our hands!

Hooray, Nature!The

Submitted by Tom on Wed, 07/28/2010 - 12:48.

Hooray, Nature!The unfortunate thing is, those bacteria require oxygen to do their thing. And if you get enough of them together in one spot, they can use up enough oxygen that it creates a dead spot, where nothing else can live.Of course, those dead spots go away eventually, too. In a few decades...

Tom - I'm aware of the need

Submitted by Lukei in Oz on Wed, 07/28/2010 - 22:36.

Tom - I'm aware of the need of bacteria for oxygen (but not all bacteria require oxygen), however not so sure about them creating oxygen dead spots that last decades... where is the science that supports that? I do know that algal blooms can cause such things on lakes (especially shallow lakes), because they form a covering of the lake that prevents oxygen from getting into the water, and they rapidly use the oxygen in the water. There is science that shows that in the summer months off the coast of the Gulf of Mexico that bacterial blooms do create dead zones in DEEP water, but these are temporary, and disappear in the winter months. For example I found an article titled: Dead waters: massive oxygen-starved zones are developing along the world's coasts. I did try an post the link, but was barred from doing so, so just google it). But I'm not so sure about how bacteria would do the same thing on the surface of an open ocean, miles and miles deep, and thousands of miles in area, how would that happen? Not saying it doesn't, but would love to see the science that has observed this happening before, and especially suggesting the damage is for decades? However, I do agree - hooray for nature... we constantly underestimate nature and what it is capable of... Cheers, Luke

"Scientists said the rapid

Submitted by Richard on Wed, 07/28/2010 - 12:43.

"Scientists said the rapid dissipation of the surface oil was probably due to a combination of factors." Scientists? Do they mean all the leading scientists now on BP's payroll and under confidentiality agreements? Factors, like the chemical dispersants that are killing off the bacteria and the rest of the marine life? Yes, Gulf bacteria CAN eat oil, but show me the studies where they CAN do that in Corexit. "Natural capacity" not chemical infused capacity. We can discuss hunting and gathering all day long, but if those discussions don't also address the growing toxicity around us then is our health and wellness really sustainable? Yep, intestinal flora is a good thing indeed.

There's a widespread bias

Submitted by JT on Wed, 07/28/2010 - 11:59.

There's a widespread bias that bacteria is bad and killing it is good. I read somewhere that the ratio of bacteria to body cells in and on our bodies is 10:1. An interesting related topic is people's shifting understanding of ulcers. A few decades ago it was popular to say they were stress-induced, which I agree with. Then it was understood that a certain bacteria plays a huge role in ulcers, and that when this bacteria overpopulates, ulcers are likely. What people don't realize is how stress can affect healthy immune system functioning, an enormous part of which is keeping our bacterial levels at healthy ratios, not simply eradicating them all. So my take: yea, stress can cause ulcers, by allowing unhealthy bacterial ratios to emerge in our stomachs.