In my city, one major environmental issue is oil and chemical contamination along coastal areas due to small-scale shipping and oil spills. To tackle this, I would like to choose Alcanivorax borkumensis, a hydrocarbon-degrading bacterium, because it naturally breaks down oil into less harmful substances. Bacteria like this are more efficient than fungi or algae in degrading petroleum compounds quickly, making them suitable for marine pollution.
While nature does have some capacity to remediate oil spills, relying on it alone is often too slow and insufficient. Human intervention, such as bioaugmentation with lab-grown A. borkumensis immobilized on carriers like magnetic biochar, could accelerate the cleanup while being environmentally safe. This approach enhances natural processes and targets pollution more effectively than waiting for microbes in the environment to act on their own.
By combining microbial action with minimal human-guided strategies, we can create a sustainable solution to reduce oil contamination in coastal ecosystems.