BP is going to attempt something called the "top kill," a process that will fire mud and cement over the oil leak. This could happen as soon as Tuesday or as late as two weeks from now. If that doesn't work, then it's the "junk shot" where they dump golf balls and shredded tires into the pipe.
Obviously, these are both techniques to merely plug the leak, whereas the riser insertion tube actually harvests the oil. Meanwhile:
NEW ORLEANS – A suggestion box or publicity stunt? BP has received thousands of ideas from the public on how to stop a blown oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, but some inventors are complaining that their efforts are getting ignored.
Oil-eating bacteria, bombs and a device that resembles a giant shower curtain are among the 10,000 fixes people have proposed to counter the growing environmental threat. BP is taking a closer look at 700 of the ideas, but the oil company has yet to use any of them nearly a month after the deadly explosion that caused the leak.
The question that remains totally unanswered is why they've waited so long to just plug the leaks. Why weren't the top kill and junk shot ideas employed weeks ago? Why are the "suggestion box" ideas being ignored?
My theory remains that they were exhausting all options for continuing to harvest (and then refine) the leaking oil before they entirely plugged the thing. Every solution they've tried so far has been designed to both plug the leak and, you know, drink their milkshake -- harvest the oil. Consequently, tens of millions of gallons of oil have been ejected into the Gulf while BP figured out ways to recover some of their obviously diminishing cache of oil, rather than plugging the leak as rapidly as possible beginning on day one.