In recent years the tools of statistical physics have been successfully employed in dealing with the stochastic phenomena that have surfaced in the context of microbial population studies. In a given environment a cell has access to a large set of physiological macrostates (or phenotypes) in a similar way to how a degrees-of-freedom-rich physical system in contact with a heat reservoir can be found in one of its macroscopic configurations. The statistical laws that govern how such state spaces are explored are believed to share similar principles. In particular, how fluctuations in the environment, possibly dependent on population size, might be related to the phenotypic variability (represented by maximum growth rate variability) observed in population ensembles appears to be a relevant problem suited to a statistical physics approach.