Kevin Costner's Waterworld Will Save the Gulf

So remember that time in Waterworld when that machine could turn urine into clean water? Well, Kevin Costner was apparently so inspired by the technology, and so devastated by the Exxon-Valdez spill, that he paid scientists millions of dollars to develop a similar system for oil. The resulting centrifuge machines, named "Ocean Therapy," will now be applied to the Gulf of Mexico. The world actually has Waterworld to thank for something.

The 300 machines suck in the oily water, separate the oil from the water and spit the clean water back out, with the largest doing so at a rate of 200 gallons a minute. The break in the pipe is currently spewing about 145.83 gallons a minute. Costner told the Daily News, "I'm just really happy that the light of day has come to this. It's prepared to go out and solve problems, not talk about them." Wait, the machines can talk?

The news of the invention was released just before a permit issued to BP by the Minerals Management Service was made public. The facepalm inducing permit warned BP to “Exercise caution while drilling due to indications of shallow gas and possible water flow.’’ The permit was granted on April 6th, just two weeks before the explosion that killed 11 and sent oil flowing wantonly into the Gulf.

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By Jaya Saxena in News on May 19, 2010 5:49 PM

Comments [rss]

akuryo

Does this mean I dont have to donate for the cleanup since my $10 ticket helped pay for Costner's tech?

Jamie McDonald

In other news, Dennis Hopper has recovered from cancer and has been appointed as CEO of BP.

Wza

Anything helps.

Thank you Mr. Costner.

PJS

If they build it... they will come

Papercutninja

Wait, is this for real??

Ritchie

Yes! for Real! And @Dwayno -- I totally agree with you

Alamo L7

Dry land is a myth!

jibbly

So how are these machines powered?

matty

With the oil it cleans, duh.

Rocknrope

I thought it was powered by unsold dvd's of Kevin's movies.

asakasan

But there's no invention on Earth that can save Costner's film career. /rimshot

longacre

200 gallons a minute in the ocean = nothing.

dwayno

gotta love the guy that complains with no alternative solutions; just like a republican

longacre

Suck the oily water into empty supertankers and treat the water on shore....much more efficient and probably cheaper than Costner's solution. There's lots of tankers floating around doing nothing at any given time. It's been successfully done before...so well apparently that the Saudis spilled 700 million gallons somewhere and we didn't even know it. The guys who came up with it have pitched it to BP and the Feds, but they're not listening...in fact BP threatened to sue them.

http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/gulf-oil-spill-supertankers-051310