No one should minimize the seriousness of the recently capped BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico – particularly since 11 workers lost their lives.
But we spotted an amazing testament to the power of nature in a San Francisco Chronicle article about the spill. Scientists have found a species of oil-hungry bacteria that has mostly eaten a 22-mile-long plume of oil in the Gulf. The plume is now “undetectable,” one scientist told the Chronicle.
It is not news that certain bacteria eat oil that seeps naturally from the sea floor, the newspaper pointed out, but these newly discovered bacteria are especially helpful. That’s because they multiplied fast in the wake of the BP spill, feasting rapidly on the oil. What’s more, this newfound species of bacteria does not deplete nearly as much oxygen as some other bacteria use up when they eat oil. That reduces the danger of oxygen-poor “dead zones” in the Gulf.
Scientists think the bacteria can be harnessed to clean up future spills.
It is incredible what we are still learning about the natural world.