Posted on 12/20/2019 8:29:10 AM PST by nwrep
Most of the oil on Galveston Beach is from natural seeps found in the Gulf of Mexico. With the advent of offshore drilling the pressure has been reduced and the biggest seeps are now from farther away, closer to Mexico. Please note that the Beach is not the same as the Bay.
There is an enormous amount of monitoring of the water quality in Galveston Bay. Here is one of the report cards available online:
https://www.galvbaygrade.org/pollution/#oil-spills
About 225 spills per year of any kind, from a land facility or from a shipping vessel, reported over the past few years. Most are less than 5 gallons.
Plastic eating bacteria...
What could possibly go wrong?
Imagine if every plastic part in your car, house, phone was suddenly consumed.
So plastic is biodegradeable... I suspected as much.
Years ago there was a story about a bacteria that was developed to ‘eat garbage’
It did a good job - until it escaped into the environment.
Pretty much ended life on Earth. Trying to find a link to the story now...
If the bacteria eats plastic, why didn’t it disolove the plastic bags she put it into? I recall seeing stories that this entire article was bogus.
I wouldn’t touch their refrigerator... let Mandy do it...
Envisioned (sort of) in a Star Trek Next Generation episode:
In the Next Generation episode “Evolution,” Wesley falls asleep while conducting a science experiment and accidentally unleashes tiny nanites. He experimented with nanites aboard the USS Enterprise-D to see if he could enhance their capabilities, by letting them work together. When these nanites escaped they entered the Enterprise computer core where they multiplied and interfered with almost all ship operations. Their increasing numbers allowed them to develop collective intelligence.
There are seeps that occur
naturally in the gulf.
From the WIKI;
“In the Gulf of Mexico, there are more than 600 natural oil seeps that leak between one and five million barrels of oil per year, equivalent to roughly 80,000 to 200,000 tonnes.[41] When a petroleum seep forms underwater it may form a peculiar type of volcano known as an asphalt volcano.
So there are things that eat plastic. When we throw plastic out we are feeding the animals. Paper or plastic? Plastic please I’m all for feeding hungry animals!
Patent a discovery? What was invented?
I like the blue fingernail polish.
Hopefully these bacteria don’t get loose. We’d have to go back to using wood.
“...contraband stored in her carry-on bag—nearly a dozen Ziploc bags full of dirt.”
How is this contraband?
In some states agricultural laws forbid bringing in soil samples without a cert or a quarantine so that you don’t introduce new pests or bacteria. You can’t bring in soil from the Middle East (I think Kuwait?) because the sand fleas can carry leishmaniasis and tungiasis for example.
Similar to the laws about bringing fruit into California.
beef? cows? . . . people?
The Andromeda Strain.
Good point. Thanks.
Am I the only nerd who read a 1971 apocalyptic book titled: The Plastic Eaters
Plot: Cola companies are under fire for producing non-biodegradable waste (bottle caps filling sewers/drains) so they invent a bacteria that will eat plastic.
Eventually said bacteria escapes the lab and hilarity ensues...well...not hilarity exactly. The bacteria makes it’s way across the word, airplanes dropping out of the sky, infrastructure failing, cars imobilized as they all have plastic coated wires etc. Was a good book, but kind of short.
I think I found a version of it on Amazon. Dated 2012 referring to a 1971 version.
https://www.amazon.com/Mutant-59-Plastic-Kit-Pedler-ebook/dp/B0081RLFEY/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+plastic+eaters&qid=1576864911&sr=8-1
Real name: vagunosis?
Looks like a golden pug to me.
nully refraining from suggesting that she didn't want a canine that is prettier than her...
Didn’t GE invent Lexan through an accident?
Cool.
[[What’s left over after the bacteria eat the PET?]]
small little plastic poop pellets of course (which then get lodged in the esophaguses of polar bears and make them drown of course- evil man you know-)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.