The cleanup of the April 20th BP oil spill is getting desperate. Shrimp boats are collecting as much oil as they can, but the prospect of 5,000 barrels a day continuing to spill into the Gulf is becoming overwhelming. The National Guard is setting up a plastic fence along the entire coast. Some individuals are even sacrificing their fashion: they’re stuffing pantyhose with human hair in an effort to absorb oil approaching the shore.

The residents sacrificing their hair may be elated to hear that technology exists to spare their 'dos. A company called AbTech sells sponges specifically designed to clean up oil spills. They’re called Smart Sponges and they absorb oil while repelling water. Even when they’re saturated with oil, the sponges float for easy retrieval. After retrieval, they can be safely transported to waste-to-energy power plants and burned to generate electricity.

It’s a no-waste solution to BP’s blunder off the coast of the United States. And everyone can keep their pantyhose on.

***

This post comes from The BlueTech Blog, an open forum for discussion on water issues sponsored by the Artemis Project. Artemis will announce its list of the top 50 water companies at its BlueTech Innovation Forum June 8 in San Francisco. (Disclosure, I'm participating. Water is one of the biggest issues out there.)