Posted on 12/09/2007 5:24:09 AM PST by JACKRUSSELL
An odd new species of bacteria discovered in one of the most extreme environments on Earth could be a new tool in the fight against global warming.
In a paper published this week in the journal Nature, University of Calgary biologist Peter Dunfield and his colleagues describe a methane-gas-gobbling micro-organism they found in an area of low-level volcanic activity in New Zealand known as Hell's Gate.
It's the hardiest methane-eater known to date, Dunfield said, making it a likely candidate for reducing methane emissions from landfills, mines, industrial wastes, geothermal plants and other sources of global warming.
Hell's Gate hot springs site in New Zealand where the bacteria was found. In a paper published this week in the journal Nature, University of Calgary biologist Peter Dunfield talks about an odd little methane-eating microorganism they discovered in a field of volcanic vents in New Zealand.
"As a greenhouse gas, CO2 is more important than methane because there's so much of it,"Dunfield said Thursday.
"But per molecule, methane is much, much worse: one molecule of methane absorbs 25 per cent more heat than a molecule of CO2, so converting methane to CO2 is a very good thing."
The species belongs to a "mysterious" family of bacteria that are found everywhere, Dunfield said, but they are very difficult to grow in the laboratory.
The biggest global emitters of methane are cattle, wetlands in Russia and Canada and rice paddies, said Philip Byer, a professor who specializes in solid waste management in the University of Toronto's civil engineering department.
But landfills around the world are still a "major" source of methane, he said.
According to Environment Canada, landfills generate more than a quarter of the methane emissions caused by human activity in Canada, sending 1.2 million tonnes of the gas into the atmosphere each year.
However, because the newly discovered bacteria convert methane into C02, Byer said the rate of conversion will determine just how useful any biotechnological applications would be.
"The preferred alternative would be to capture the methane and use it as an energy source,"Byer said, something that's already happening at some landfills in Canada and other developed countries.
So far, Dunfield and his team have only grown the bacteria in a lab, but the scientist says he has confidence they will function well in soil filters or in methane-fuelled bioreactors.
"It's a project for engineers, but I'm confident it would work,"he said.
The bacterium's genome has been completely sequenced by researchers at the University of Hawaii and Nankai University in China, which could help with the biotechnological applications.
Dunfield said he plans to continue hunting for new life forms in extreme environments, including northern Alberta's oilsands and the hot springs of Western Canada.
This is great news. Where can I get a package of this bacteria so I can strop to my backside?
This is great news. Where can I get a package of this bacteria so I can strap it to my backside?
“It’s a project for engineers, but I’m confident it would work,”he said.
TRANSLATION: give us lots and lots of money so we can research this.
Ah, the church of global warming delusionists continues their fear mongering against rational and sane people by silly plans like this.
[Where can I get a package of this bacteria so I can strap it to my backside?]
Better yet, wish they would find a bug that eats up the waste in my septic tank.
LOL....two times
Freudian slip, perhaps?
Why do I always get the feeling that the cures will be much worse than the affliction?
God forbid these ignorant fools ever actually succeeded in making any changes because you can be sure they will result in unforeseen disasters of biblical proportions.
believe this and your are just as P. T. Barnum said: “There’s a sucker born every minute”. .... A fool and his money are soon parted?
I hope some real serious - and I mean serious - thought is given before we start seeding the planet with hydrocarbon-eating organisms. It’s scary enough that they exist naturally. Haven’t we had enough experience with introducing bug species to new areas, learning that the unintended consequences are generally worse than the original problem?
This is dangerous.
Made to seem like the lesser of two evils.
Or, it could reproduce rapidly and extinguish all other life on earth.
Either way.
For sure - I can picture a scenario, a few years after this project is put into practice, when we are devoting all our energies toward creating greenhouse gasses because these bacteria did too good a job and mutated to destroy other sources...
They think they know better than God, and probably most of them do not even believe in God.
Boy, if they could package those in a capsule, I could start eating chili-cheese dogs with onions and extra jalepeneos again!
Mark
And because they're liberal, their response will be "but we meant well" as they walk away, leaving the adults to deal with the mess they made.
Mark
Truth serum is an instant cure for ‘global warming’!
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.