So they've decided to put a rubber bathtub stopper into the pipe. Really.
BP PLC technicians were gingerly moving joysticks to guide deep-sea robots and thread the 6-inch tube with a rubber stopper into the 21-inch pipe spewing oil from the ocean floor. That work continued Saturday morning for a second day, BP said.
While I hope it works, something tells me the next idea will be to chew a giant wad of gum and jam it into the hole. Though nothing seems quite as ridiculous as when they considered dropping golf balls and household garbage onto the leak.
And more good news on the dispersant front:
The company also received word that federal regulators had approved spraying chemical dispersants beneath the sea, a contentious development because it has never been done underwater.
Traditionally used on the ocean surface, chemical dispersants act like a detergent to break the oil into small globules, which allows it to disperse more quickly into the water or air before currents can wash it ashore. Louisiana officials claim BP and the Environmental Protection Agency ignored their concerns about how the chemicals may harm the sea floor.
But it makes the chocolate milk disappear. Like magic. Why should anyone worry about that?
UPDATE: Via the AP on Twitter:
Salazar says BP's effort to stick a mile-long tube into the oil gusher at the ocean floor has hit a snag - AP