On the 40
th
anniversary of Earth Day 2010, this is what the headlines read:
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Oil Rig Sinks In Gulf of Mexico; 11 Still Missing
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NEW ORLEANS April 22, 2010, 04:13 pm ET
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Officials are saying that an explosion on an oil rig off the coast of
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Louisiana has the potential to be a major spill. The platform burned
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for more than a day after a massive explosion Tuesday. It sank into
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the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday (Fleming).
What does an oil spill have to do with microbes A lot, according to National Geographic News reporter, Christine Dell'Amore's report from Port Sulphur, Louisiana: "Gulf Oil Spill Is 'Butter' for Microbes." The story quotes Christopher Reddy, a marine chemist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Massachusetts. "Any self-respecting bacteria are going to want to eat it." (Dell'Amore 2010).
There are hundreds of species of bacteria, so, what kind eats oil? Where do they come from? Have they been used before? Do they occur naturally? What are other ways that microbes can help ecosystems? This unit will be focused on exploring and answering these questions as well as teaching middle school students the basics about microbiology.