[hoyt-clagwell]

Could that be because microbes specially adapted to eat naturally occurring oil from seeps have been having the feast of their lives? Could it be that fish feed on these microbes? Could it be that oil is an excellent (albeit expensive and messy) fertilizer?

Just because the microbes ate the oil does not mean the oil disappeared. Oil breaks down into it's basic forms such as benzine etc which is deadly to humans. The fish eventually ate the microbes.

If you think the fish/shrimp are now safe to eat without accurate unbiased testing I have some Chernobyl fish you would enjoy...you know..the kind that have 3 eyes.

Just because you cannot see it does not mean it's not there.

[Daisyjane69]

Indeed....

Naturally seeping oil is one thing, the microbes can handle that. But this spill is something else again.

Listen to me carefully here, folks.

The oil is sitting on the ocean floor, coating the eggs of the next generation of seafood. That is EXACTLY what Corexita is designed to do.

http://blogs.wsj.com/financial-adviser/2010/07/22/warren-buffett-is-big-on-clean-water/

[PapaBear3625]

Just because the microbes ate the oil does not mean the oil disappeared. Oil breaks down into it's basic forms such as benzine etc which is deadly to humans. The fish eventually ate the microbes.

When we talk about microbes "eating oil", we are talking about microbes ingesting the various components of oil, including benzene, and metabolizing them, ultimately breaking them down into CO2 and water. See, for example here. The benzene is not incorporated as benzene, it gets broken down.

[Wonder Warthog]

"Just because the microbes ate the oil does not mean the oil disappeared. Oil breaks down into it's basic forms such as benzine etc which is deadly to humans. The fish eventually ate the microbes."

True ignorance at its best. The bacteria break down the oil (eventually) into CO2 and H2O. "Benzine" (actually correctly spelled "benzene") is excellent "bacteria food". They love it. If bacteria eat it, IT'S GONE.