From a (failed) dome to a “top hat” to a tube, it seems like BP has tried many a method of containing the millions of gallons of oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico. Last night, the petroleum giant was finally able to announce a degree of success. Their current solution – a four-inch wide and nearly mile-long tube being guided by remotely controlled robot submersibles – appears to actually be effective at diverting some of the oil being spewed into the ocean. But there’s still no telling how much oil is actually being contained – or how BP plans to clean up the rest of the oil that’s currently floating around in the Gulf.
“So far it’s working extremely well,” said BP Senior Executive Vice President Kent Wells of the strategy. But it’s important to note that even if the tube is collecting a large percentage of the oil exiting the leak, it won’t be able to do anything about the enormous amount of oil that’s already spilled into the Gulf. In fact, according to MSNBC, researchers’ computer models show that the black ooze might have already entered a major current flowing toward the Florida Keys.
While we’re thankful that one of BP’s proposed solutions has finally had some level of success, we still think there are other options on the table that are being overlooked. Last week, we wrote about using supertankers to suck up the oil – a tried and true method which could even allow BP to resell the petrol once it’s been collected – but BP does not seem to want to give it a try. We hope that they’ll continue to look for solutions that address not just containing the leak, but also how to clean up the oil that is already in the ocean and is drifting dangerously towards land.
Via Treehugger and MSNBC
Did you guys ever try to contact BP in another way than posting here on your blog? No offense, but perhaps they don’t read it and just don’t know about your possible solutions?
FINALLY, someone listened…
Giant Oil Skimmer Undergoing Tests in Gulf
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/07/03/national/main6644321.shtml