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.
