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OIL EATING MICROBES???
- Thread starter Byrdman
- Start date
teflonmom":35ab1a4g said:I have become very skeptical of anything our government tells us.
It's Bush's fault....
I found this article to be fascinating. A previously unknown deep and cold water microbe in the gulf.
The underwater plumes of oil supposedly paving the floor of the gulf have been eaten up!!!!
http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/08/24 ... gewanted=1
http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/08/24 ... gewanted=2
The underwater plumes of oil supposedly paving the floor of the gulf have been eaten up!!!!
http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/08/24 ... gewanted=1
http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/08/24 ... gewanted=2
marvin4239
New member
Wefings":2x07y1cb said:BP has a lot of people fooled . And bought . Dispersant is a P.R. tool . Out of sight ,out of mind . They are paving the bottom of the Gulf . I guess that means its "gone"
Marc
And as that oil slowly makes it to the shallows what a pretty wake you will leave as you pass over it. I'm sorry no way to down play this it will be with us for the rest of my life! Using the despersants was merely a way to hide the extent of the damage and make the spilled oil uncoverable.
Marvin,
Why can't they find the oil anymore? Because it's gone. So what happened to it? According to this esteemed environmental scientist,THE OIL HAS BEEN CONSUMED BY WONDERFUL LITTLE PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN INDIGENOUS GULF ORGANISMS.
Hang on to the gloom and doom forever if you want to but the rest of your life may be a lot more pleasant than you thought.
Dan
Either you didn't read the article or you don't believe it.I'm sorry no way to down play this it will be with us for the rest of my life!
Why can't they find the oil anymore? Because it's gone. So what happened to it? According to this esteemed environmental scientist,THE OIL HAS BEEN CONSUMED BY WONDERFUL LITTLE PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN INDIGENOUS GULF ORGANISMS.
Hang on to the gloom and doom forever if you want to but the rest of your life may be a lot more pleasant than you thought.
Dan
localboy":1wjxzh96 said::? But it's written right there in the NY Times. Again; Mother Nature shows us who's really boss.
And we all know that the NY Times is infallible. :disgust Long live the Party, long live Big Brother. Sorry, I just read 1984. Atlas Shrugged is on deck next. :wink
"The research was supported by an existing grant with the Energy Biosciences Institute, a partnership led by the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Illinois that is funded by a $500 million, 10-year grant from BP. Other support came from the U.S. Department of Energy and the University of Oklahoma Research Foundation."
Take it with a 500 Million dollar grain of salt .
Marc
Take it with a 500 Million dollar grain of salt .
Marc
There are hundreds of scientists working on the Gulf oil spill environmental impact. The NYT information will be checked and verified by others. Their findings will be published in journals with a peer review process and their data checked and verified.
One item to check or ask, is who provided the research funding.
Was it corporate money, are they a consultant, government grant etc. Just follow the money
One item to check or ask, is who provided the research funding.
Was it corporate money, are they a consultant, government grant etc. Just follow the money
Funding sources can be a direct donation (unrestricted by donor and has no control or directed by specific goal or research (restricted)
Whoever receives the funding will have an ethics committee and review board.
I am around alot of government grant money and we are 100% accountable for every penny and subject to multiple levels of review and audits. and legal action and criminal prosecution. In my case, it is not a blank check and all of our findings whether published or not, is reviewed at multiple levels by my employer and the funding source.
I understand most folks do not understand the inner workings of grants and funding sources and the vast majority of us receiving such funds are ethical, honest and goal driven.
Whoever receives the funding will have an ethics committee and review board.
I am around alot of government grant money and we are 100% accountable for every penny and subject to multiple levels of review and audits. and legal action and criminal prosecution. In my case, it is not a blank check and all of our findings whether published or not, is reviewed at multiple levels by my employer and the funding source.
I understand most folks do not understand the inner workings of grants and funding sources and the vast majority of us receiving such funds are ethical, honest and goal driven.
I listened to State of Fear audiobook by Michael Crichton. It is nonfiction but provides in great detail environmental organizations and their causes, research activities, pseudo-science vs real science and funding sources.
You can join Audible now and receive the free book with no strings. The better deal is to join at the $23 per month level receive the free book plus 2 other books. If you wish, you can cancel after the first month. Your books will always will be available regardless of membership status.
I download books and listen on PCs, iTouch and TomTom which has a builtin FM transmitter.
off my soap box
You can join Audible now and receive the free book with no strings. The better deal is to join at the $23 per month level receive the free book plus 2 other books. If you wish, you can cancel after the first month. Your books will always will be available regardless of membership status.
I download books and listen on PCs, iTouch and TomTom which has a builtin FM transmitter.
off my soap box
fyi
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/bus ... 90422.html
Feds find no dead zones caused by BP's oil spill
Study suggests dispersants were used properly
By MATTHEW TRESAUGUE
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Sept. 7, 2010, 8:32PM
Bacteria feeding on oil leaked from BP's ill-fated well have not sapped oxygen levels in the Gulf of Mexico, a new federal study concluded Tuesday.
Researchers found a 20 percent drop in oxygen levels within 60 miles of the well head into August, but the levels weren't low enough to create "dead zones" that are harmful to marine life.
The findings suggest BP and federal officials properly used chemical dispersants at the mile-deep well head, not just at the surface, to break oil into tiny droplets that are easier for naturally occurring bacteria to digest, said Steve Murawski, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's chief scientist for the spill response.
"Did we hit the sweet spot here? To some extent, that's true," Murawski said.
Scientists have warned that if the chemicals are too successful and allow a surge in bacteria, the microbes can use up all the oxygen in the water and kill the fish and other organisms. Dispersants also can hide the oil below the surface.
A recent study by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution concluded there was little "appreciable" surge in bacteria growth and oil consumption around a subsea plume that stretched more than 20 miles from the BP well.
A handful of studies have been conducted on the impacts of the spill on the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem, but there is little agreement on the extent of the damage.
"I certainly hope they are correct because it would be one less issue of concern, but I am not yet convinced we can sound the all clear on this one," said Larry McKinney, executive director of the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies in Corpus Christi.
Since BP began using the chemicals, federal scientists have been looking for signs of unusually low oxygen levels and had not found them.
For the latest report, the multiagency team based its findings on measurements taken from 419 locations in the Gulf over three months.
Oxygen levels didn't drop too low partly because of the mixing of oxygen-rich waters with depleted areas in the Gulf, Murawski said, adding that they needed to drop 75 percent for the water to be considered a dead zone.
The Gulf already has a dead zone that forms off the Texas and Louisiana coasts each summer.
The oxygen-starved area is caused by the Mississippi River's discharge of nutrients – primarily commercial fertilizers – from Midwestern states. Sometimes fish can swim away from dead zones, but many bottom-dwellers simply die.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/bus ... 90422.html
Feds find no dead zones caused by BP's oil spill
Study suggests dispersants were used properly
By MATTHEW TRESAUGUE
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Sept. 7, 2010, 8:32PM
Bacteria feeding on oil leaked from BP's ill-fated well have not sapped oxygen levels in the Gulf of Mexico, a new federal study concluded Tuesday.
Researchers found a 20 percent drop in oxygen levels within 60 miles of the well head into August, but the levels weren't low enough to create "dead zones" that are harmful to marine life.
The findings suggest BP and federal officials properly used chemical dispersants at the mile-deep well head, not just at the surface, to break oil into tiny droplets that are easier for naturally occurring bacteria to digest, said Steve Murawski, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's chief scientist for the spill response.
"Did we hit the sweet spot here? To some extent, that's true," Murawski said.
Scientists have warned that if the chemicals are too successful and allow a surge in bacteria, the microbes can use up all the oxygen in the water and kill the fish and other organisms. Dispersants also can hide the oil below the surface.
A recent study by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution concluded there was little "appreciable" surge in bacteria growth and oil consumption around a subsea plume that stretched more than 20 miles from the BP well.
A handful of studies have been conducted on the impacts of the spill on the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem, but there is little agreement on the extent of the damage.
"I certainly hope they are correct because it would be one less issue of concern, but I am not yet convinced we can sound the all clear on this one," said Larry McKinney, executive director of the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies in Corpus Christi.
Since BP began using the chemicals, federal scientists have been looking for signs of unusually low oxygen levels and had not found them.
For the latest report, the multiagency team based its findings on measurements taken from 419 locations in the Gulf over three months.
Oxygen levels didn't drop too low partly because of the mixing of oxygen-rich waters with depleted areas in the Gulf, Murawski said, adding that they needed to drop 75 percent for the water to be considered a dead zone.
The Gulf already has a dead zone that forms off the Texas and Louisiana coasts each summer.
The oxygen-starved area is caused by the Mississippi River's discharge of nutrients – primarily commercial fertilizers – from Midwestern states. Sometimes fish can swim away from dead zones, but many bottom-dwellers simply die.
Oxygen "sags" and oil "snow storm" near spill site - September 07, 2010 - See this link for more info.
Perhaps one has to be separated from the complete news media like we were from June 28TH to near the end of August to see just how amazing the difference from what was being reported in late June till now to be. Wanted a break from all the gloom and doom and Jo-Lee and I agreed to resist listening to a news broadcast or read a news paper during this time . Couldn't believe how much the doom over the gulf had lifted when we tuned in again.
Jay
Jay