The first step is admitting that you have a problem.
And the April 20 Deepwater Horizon rig explosion and the consequential Gulf Coast obliteration is something Beyond Petroleum evidently refuses to take seriously. So much so that BP chief executive Tony Hayward was quoted saying “I would like my life back,” about a month into the catastrophe.
Sure, BP has successfully jammed a pudgy finger into a single fractured oil pipe, but that hasn’t made much of an impact in the wider scheme of things. The next solution up for execution had been the containment cap effort, which was ultimately a flop. And the list of BP oil containment fiascos range from the slightly sensible (okay, giant shears) to the straight-up ridiculous (really, “junk shot” garbage disposal?), and have all been proven foolishly unsuccessful.
Since April 20, the internet has seen a proliferation of mostly innovative ideas and suggestions that BP and the containment effort has failed to acknowledge. And I'm not talking sexiigurl92’s YouTube feed; scientists, environmentalists, mariners, and various respectable, learned professionals are stepping up and speaking out. However, these independent and creative solutions are being fired at ignorantly deaf ears.
According to the Deepwater Horizon Unified Command website, “the IATAP and the RDC will screen and triage submissions based on technical feasibility, efficacy and deployability.” But what happened when independent filmmaker and CNN iReporter Johnny Colt accompanied C.W. Roberts contractors Darryl Carpenter and Otis Goodman as they traveled into the Florida Gulf to help contain oil using hay before it reached beaches in Destin? They were literally evacuated by the Coast Guard, who said they had it taken care of. 12 hours later, oil reached the shores of Destin.
Solution submissions like the “top hat” that couldn’t handle more than 18,000 of the estimated 60,000 barrels a day gushing from the earth’s core are approved by BP, but we ask: Since when has covering up the problem been an acceptable solution? Yet still, two months later, solutions to contain oil already affecting the Gulf Coast environment are stuck waiting in line as tar balls pollute beaches and coastal habitats and cancel tourists’ reservations.
I took the liberty of Googling “oil spill solutions.” And got 4,220,000 results in .27 seconds.
The most promising contenders among the 8,000-plus answers stuffed into BP’s suggestion box? Using nuclear or other explosives to just demolish the sunken well; call on the Dutch government that offered their “sweeping arm systems” proven since 1996; applying micronized polyeurothane (MPU), peat moss, hair, straw, wood chips, soap, or hay as mega-oil-absorbents; $5-per-square-foot absorbent Aerogel insulation that separates oil from water; and/or utilizing Kevin Costner’s $24 million centrifuge oil-separation project or James Cameron’s “Titanic” fleet of deep-sea subs.
It’s difficult to separate the trash from the treasure when slammed with over 8,000 proposals, but definitely not impossible. BP or the U.S. Coast Guard should expedite a process of hiring a legitimate board of specialists to review the inventions and innovative solutions presented to them. This way, all ideas can be considered equally, and perhaps a quick fix can finally be achieved. But in order to do this, BP must take the blame in full, and act responsibly to save the world that they destroyed.
This is a state of emergency to the 500th power -- politicians and executives must treat it like one. Or is that too difficult to admit?
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