The vast technical challenges of stemming an underwater "volcano of oil" certainly call for creative thinking.
Here, five much-further-outside-the-box
strategies to stop the spill:
1. Nuclear
weapons
Between 1966 and 1979, the Soviet Union used "controlled"
nuclear blasts five times to successfully
plug leaking oil wells. According to the
Russian daily Komsomoloskaya Pravda, "the underground explosion
moves the rock, presses on it, and, in essence, squeezes the well’s channel."
Given the technique's track record in Russia, says
KP, "the Americans could certainly risk it."
2. Peat
moss
The Norwegian company Kallak Torvstrøfabrikk claims to have developed a
strain of peat moss that masterfully soaks up floating oil. "It absorbs the
oil on contact and encapsulates it," company founder Ragnar Kallak tells
Science Daily. The special moss was already deployed in 2009 on a
slick off Norway's south-east coast, reports
to the Associated Press, and at least one expert is pressing the U.S.
government to begin strewing hundreds of thousands of tons of the peat moss into
the Gulf.
3. Human hair
Inspired by the concept of a
"greasy hair day," Environmental charity Matter of Trust has collected nearly
half a million pounds of clippings from salons around the world, and volunteers
are stuffing the hair into nylon stockings to create sausage-shaped "booms"
designed to soak up the petroleum along beach fronts. "Basically, everyone is
desperate to help," says
Matter of Trust President Lisa Gautier of the hair donors. "They just
really, really want to help." (Watch
a CNN report about salons collecting hair for the oil
cleanup)
4. Frozen carbon dioxide
The
entrepreneurs behind Clean Kool — a sprayable carbon-dioxide solution that can
be shot from a gun — claim that it can freeze floating crude oil into lumps that
are easier to collect. "We're fixing to do a demonstration of our product for a
couple of mayors down at the beach," Clean
Kool representative Terry Hester tells the AP. "We've got a product
we know will work."
5. Meditation
Carl Fuermann of
Boulder, Colorado, believes the leak can be staunched through mindpower alone.
"The basic concept is to try and get as many people to visualize that the
[shut-off] valve is actually functioning," Fuermann tells
Colorado Daily. Describing himself as a man "known for fixing
things and making things work," Fuermann says his meditative potency has already
repaired a friend's Flip video camera.
Sources: AP (2), APP, True/Slant, KP, Science Daily, Fast Company, Colorado Daily
