Been following this for a few weeks now. While I don't think it's the solution to the problem, it could be part of it and they should have had them running weeks ago

yeah he and his product are gonna get the chance to try...saw him on CNN last night, and they have a centrifuge system that will separate water from oil efficiently.

I saw another invention this morning that will clean sand, and replace it back on the beach.....

lets get this stuff going!! geez

What boggles my mind, A LOT, is that we have to figure that we have the MOST BRILLIANT MINDS ON EARTH trying fix the leak, and even THE MOST BRILLIANT MINDS ON EARTH can't fix it.

I watched spell bound the night they tried to put the yellow cap on, and it was gut wrenching.

I hope Kevin Costner has the answer. (I haven't looked at the link yet, but I will soon)

PS
Kris, you look like the female heroine that Kevin Costner loved in Dances with Wolves. :)

Many years ago, my college physics professor told this story of his grad student day.

Many people offer suggestions, like technical solutions to problems. As a grad student, he fielded a few at the request of his professor. He got on his high horse, and told one person that his idea for a particle accelerator violated several important laws of nature.

Then he smiled a bit and added.

I was wrong. Now (circa 1970) all major accelerators use the same basic method that man had suggested!

So here it is, keep them ideas flowing! Any 'scientist' who is upset with ideas that come from laypeople needs to spend a few days swimming in the muck. That may get their ego in check!

Ok...I just watched the link.

It's official.

Kevin Costner has THE MOST BRILLIANT MIND ON EARTH!

Hopefully they have people figuring out how to keep it from happening again and are installing some valves that actually work under there.

Cool. If that sort of thinking had been utilized by BP in the first place, perhaps this could have been avoided altogether.

Maybe Mr. Costner and his brother and friend should also design something to capture the oil right at the source of the leak....apparently Big Oil can't handle it.

This is an article about how people are sending in ideas regarding oil clean up.....I'm sure there's more about it at cnn.com....

http://www.jaxobserver.com/2010/06/06/oil-spill-cleanup-ideas-from-public-flow-in-to-florida-officials/

I think his machine(s) might be terrific and work very well out in the ocean .. pretty far from shore.

I don't think they will be effective close to or ON shore where a lot of oil sludge will accumulate. Certainly better than doing nothing.

Doing some math .. no one seems to know what the spill rate is but here is one figure: 6,800,000 US gallons per day. Been 'spilling' for 25 days as of today, 6/15/10 which gives us a total (estimated) spill of 170,000,000 gallons spilled so far.

I have no idea how much has been burned off and/or skimmed .. total guess on my part .. but let's say 20,000,000,000 gallons which leaves us with 150 million gallons in the Gulf as of today.

Costner says the govt is buying 32 machines. One machine will 'clean' 200 gallons per minute or 288,000 gallons a day x 32 machines = 9,216,000 per day.

Sooo, machines are cleaning 9.2 million a day and the well is putting in 6.8 million a day .. that is a reduction in volume of 2.4 million gallons a day from now until they stop the leak .. end of August .. hopefully. The machines will theoretically eliminate all the oil coming out of the leak as well as 2.4 million gallons of what has already come out of the leak per day. At the end of August we will have 20,400,000 gallons left in the Gulf when they stop the leak.

If my math is correct, the machines will clean that up in less than 3 days. Not bad .. not bad at all .. except for one thing .. I don't think the machines will clean up (very well) anything that is lying on a beach or in estuaries and wetlands. There is going to be a tremendous amount of pollution that Costner's machines cannot get at.

Looks to me like Costner has a solution .. but it has taken too long .. and WILL take too long for it to be as effective as it could have been if more had been done by now .. like spreading hay .. massively and more booming and berms .. to keep it off shore. The machines are most effective cleaning water that is off shore and by now, too much damage on/near shore.

Not that I don't see these machines as worthwhile. It is just that the problem .. even with the machines at this time, could have been minimized .. a lot .. had as much attention been given to 'mopping' as has been given to stopping the leak.

while it will be fantastic if this works... i REALLY hope he`s not helping clean it up because he`s planning a sequel to Waterworld.

if that`s the case then as loathe as i am to say it, balls to a few seals ;)

20,000,000,000 should be 20,000,000 twenty million.

been watching a little of the hearing questioning Tony Hayward...you ALMOST feel sorry for the guy.
Cush oil CEO life has suddenly turned sour, has it Tony? LOL

The people who fished for a living, no matter what sort of compensation they may get (eventually)...are now forced to figure out some other way to make a living for their families...some multi-generational families who know nothing else.

They have no choice really, but to move away, or make radical employment changes.

I can't even talk about the animals, and what horrible deaths....and so many still to come...

I am delighted to hear that Kevin Costner's invention is going to be utilized, they really need to take he help where they can get it!!