A Real World Solution for the Gulf Oil Spills
- Thread starter whodeeni
- Start date
Microbes are used in waste water treatment and are very effective. However in that process they are kept contained. In waste water treatment there is nothing for the microbes to eat but the organic matter in the waste water. I am uncertain as to how this would work in an open environment. How do you keep them around the oil spill site, what else will they eat in the environment, what other kinds of side effects might they cause, etc. Given our experience with them in the waste water area, it's hard to believe that if it was really viable we wouldn't have already implemented it.
The only issue I could see using a massive concentration of these oil consuming microbes is that they could potentially start consuming algaes since they contain a high concentration of oil. If they were left unchecked they could continue to multiply and potentially destroy algae based life which are also a "cleaning crew" for the planet's water.
Cigary43
Just Another Ashhole
Very interesting thread. I was reading about the machines Kevin Costner and his brother have which they say works in seperating the oil and water. Doesn't appear that BP is really doing much of anything in regards to taking care of the problem except by putting more chemicals into the water.
