With an estimated 200,000 gallons of oil still leaking into the Gulf every day — and no end in sight as of now — here are a few inventive ideas on putting a stop to the incessant flow and cleaning up the mess.
Trash: BP has come up with their next plan of action to stop the spill: make a dam with trash — specifically old tires and golf balls. The down side? If this method causes more damage to the blowout preventer, the leak could increase by 12 times the current rate.
Plant waste material: Huffington Post writes,
"Colombian inventor Carlos Forero has invented an all-natural product—made mostly out of plant waste material like yard clippings, wood, and pineapple leaves—that repels water and absorbs oil. One pound of the product can absorb two gallons of oil, which can then be extracted from the fiber for reuse, and the material itself can also be recycled and used again. Over 350 companies use the product from the Colombian company, Flexiform, and many Colombian oil rigs carry it around in case of a spill. Flexiform's American subsidiary, GetNow Inc., had plans to launch in June, but is now trying to speed up this process due to the Gulf oil spill. Unfortunately, they say they have had no luck getting this material into the hands of BP or the federal government, despite attempts to contact them."
Hay: Who knew hay could be such a great absorber of oil? Officials in Walton County, Florida have decided to use hay to combat their coastline when the spill creeps their way because oil sticks to it very easily. The oil-laden hay can then be skimmed from the water and properly disposed of.
Meditation: Carl Fuermann from Boulder, Colorado believes worldwide meditation can stop the gushing oil leak. Fuermann's beliefs are backed by the fact that he fixed his friend's camera simply through meditation; so therefore, visualization of the the activation of the blowout preventer by millions of people will definitely fix the leak. You can't blame a guy for trying.
Nuclear weapons: Komsomoloskaya Pravda, the best-selling Russian daily paper, suggests nuking the affected area in the Gulf. According to them, "the underground explosion moves the rock, presses on it, and, in essence, squeezes the wells channel." Hey, the Soviet Union has used this method five times so far, the last being in 1979, with only one attempt that wasn't successful. "The chances of failure in the Gulf of Mexico are 20%, KP writes. "The Americans could certainly risk it."
Check out the rest of the 19 genius/harebrained/eccentric suggestions at Huffington Post's "Solutions for the Gulf Oil Spill Slideshow".