NEW ORLEANS — BP has received thousands of ideas from the public on how to stop the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, but some inventors are complaining that their efforts are being 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.
BP spokesman Mark Salt said the company wants the public’s help but that considering proposed fixes takes time.
“They’re taking bits of ideas from lots of places,” Salt said. “This is not just a PR stunt.”
BP said Wednesday that it hopes to begin shooting a mixture known as drilling mud into the blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico by Sunday.
