I know they have tried a few things to stop the leak from reaching the shore but I've done some research and my way for solving it has been proved before. I am not saying they should stop with the mud and cement to plug it but a way of cleaning it is one of the best ways besides man power on shore and I want to know what you think about this.

Back in the 1990's a huge oil spill happened near Syria. They cleaned up over 80% of it, with oil skimming, which also helped it from reaching shore. Why can't we do the same now?

Well, for one, there's probably 20 times more oil in the ocean right now, and more being added every second.  However, they are skimming using fishing vessels & the US Coast Guard. 

The problem with this is that it is not a "Spill"...it's a "Leak"...and it's still leaking thousands of barrels of oil into the ocean an hour.  While your suggestions are commendable, we have to STOP the leak first.  Then worry about how to get it all cleaned up. 

Frankly, I think we're screwed.  I mean the Valdez spill was horrible and 20 years later they're still affected by it. This leak has put more oil into the ocean than the Valdez spill ever came close to.  The effect of oil in the Gulf's ecosystem is no longer critical....it's a flat out catastrophe.

Well we I live, in Nova Scotia Canada..There is a new off shore oil rig. the company claims if anything happens the have the tool to fix it. But according to the media, it would take atlest 2 days to get it there and try to fix it, IF the off shore oil rig had a problem. I am talkign about the oil rig off the shore of Newfoundland.

PEANUT BUTTER OIL SPILL?!

As to the skimming, My family ran a trucking co. all my life and my first and only trip to Alaska was after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in the Prince William Sound. It was the late 80's early 90's era, I was 13 and accompanied my Uncle on a summer trip which landed us taking a load of what they call "skimmer boats" which were used to go over the oil as it rests on top of water and makes it nearly impossible for most vessels to navigate.

The boats are a small fraction of the costs involved in undertaking such a task. The man hours and equipment required is so costly that the operation has to be done only one way to avoid excess costs. By fixing the leak, then focusing on cleanup it would save a lot of money, time and resources, which is the primary factor in handling the clean up effort.

I think this is a job for Ron Jeremy. He's good at plugging holes.

I honestly hope this is a wake up call to this

Drill Baby Drill!

?

Whats wrong with drilling for oil? Im a gearhead and if idiots try to take away our cars and replace them with electric cars(waste, considering the making of the batteries)...there's gonna be a riot...led by me.

Anyways Drill Baby Drill!

Why not have some fun and throw a match into the darned thing!? They know they want to do it!!!

JohnnyThecat, they did to some of it. BUT fi they did oil skimming while trying to fix the leak, I swear it wouldn't have reached shore.

'What's wrong with drilling for oil?'

Let me ponder that while I go broke and develop cancer.

lol @ 'failsafe'

Im sure your life would be FANTASTIC without oil...

they should have been more careful and never let this happen

yeah this oil spill should have been avoided. its long term effects on the environment are absolutely devistating. just look at what happened in alaska. ridiculous. get ur life together oil companies.

You can blame BP all you want BUT...The government did let them drill that deep, the government gave them fines for not being 100% up to code and wasn't shut down. We all like to drive our cars, boats and take trips.

So I blame the government not BP...

You can't blame just one party here John.  They are both at fault.  As well as the men who were on hand there that KNEW something was going wrong and continued to pump oil anyways.........It's impossible to lay the blame of this at one person's feet.  It was a collaboration of laziness, stupidity, and money.

They already are skimming what they can. The plume from this oil leak stretches out for miles. The oil spreads out so far it's impossible to just skim the surface and collect it all. That doesn't even take into account the oil that emulsifies with the water.

The people who are sitting there saying, "See? This is why we shouldn't drill in Alaska." should really just swallow a shotgun. They are a big part of the reason why this disaster is happening. Everything BP has tried to to stop the leak are proven methods to stop leaks...at 200 feet. But this is a mile down under the water. The pressures you're dealing with are immensely higher then what you deal with at 200 ft. That is why everything they're trying is failing. They only drill these deep wells because they aren't allowed to drill in safer areas because people are afraid of the environmental impact. Ironic, isn't it?

If the life in the Gulf is already fucked, just burn the oil. Stop it from getting to our shores.

They have burned alot of it. They're doing everything they can think of. The only thing that's going to stop this is the President of the United States stepping in and ordering the Navy to work on it much like the Soviet Premeir did when Chernobyl was melting down and he ordered the Red Air Force to deal with it. The Navy has the deep water knowledge and equipment to work more effectively where the problem is. Too bad we elected Obama.

Don't any of you understand? This is all about illuminati! Barack Obama is a freaking puppet! He has no real power!