American ingenuity

[Ravi]

This is excellent, imo.

One of those ideas -- involving a shallow draft barge converted into a prototype oil skimmer -- has come to life in St. Tammany Parish.Designer C.W. Parker conceived the project. Convinced it would work, the Louisiana native called on people he trusted to help him make it happen."What we tried to do is build something we thought would work and we didn't try to make contact with these folks. We didn't try to aggravate anybody until we got something we thought was workable," said Bill Killian with K&K Construction and Disaster Services.The U.S. Coast Guard has approved the skimmer, and BP has signed them up to go to work.

Those who created it say it could skim 3,500 barrels of oil a day."We'll have two boats out front with boom attached to them, 250 on this side and 250 foot on this side, attached to the front of the vessel here. The oil will be funneled right in," said Bobby Thillens with K&K Construction.The pumps on board pull the oil from the ocean surface and separate it from the water. The adjustable depth of the skim allows suction as deep as it goes.

The oil is pumped into an adjoining barge, and the water goes back into the Gulf.Parker said the water is between 95 and 99 percent clean.He and his crew spent around $1 million designing and building the skimmer from scratch.The prototype is headed out to the Gulf of Mexico this week to get to work.

Local Crews Design Prototype Oil Skimmer - Most Popular News Story - WDSU New Orleans

 

[Old Rocks]

Excellent. I hope that they are properly rewarded.

 

[Ringel05]

Ya gotta love it.

 

[Baruch Menachem]

Watch the Coast Guard send them back to the beach.

 

[Ravi]

Watch the Coast Guard send them back to the beach.

You didn't read the article did you.

I suppose you can turn anything into a partisan thing...idiot.

 

[Baruch Menachem]

have to work from what I have seen.

If they do send them back to the beach in the next week, you owe me my rep points back.

If they don't, I will rep you twice. That a deal?

 

[Ravi]

have to work from what I have seen.

If they do send them back to the beach in the next week, you owe me my rep points back.

If they don't, I will rep you twice. That a deal?

Yep...since the CG already approved them the only way they will be sent back is if their invention doesn't work.

 

[topspin]

this kind of thing is why I think our economies best day's are ahead and not behind.

 

[Ravi]

this kind of thing is why I think our economies best day's are ahead and not behind.

I was thinking that, too.

 

[Ringel05]

have to work from what I have seen.

If they do send them back to the beach in the next week, you owe me my rep points back.

If they don't, I will rep you twice. That a deal?

Yep...since the CG already approved them the only way they will be sent back is if their invention doesn't work.

Uuummmm. Not counting the weather right?

Gulf beaches hit as distant hurricane pushes oil - Yahoo! News

 

[Ravi]

Well "acts of God" don't count.

 

[Ringel05]

Well "acts of God" don't count.

He didn't say why they might be sent back, did he...

 

[Ravi]

If BM is that lame I'll honor the bet.

 

[Ravi]

have to work from what I have seen.

If they do send them back to the beach in the next week, you owe me my rep points back.

If they don't, I will rep you twice. That a deal?

K & K Construction and Disaster Services workers look for tar balls aboard skimmer barge Miss Charlotte in The Rigolets, Louisiana, USA, 08 July 2010

Picture details

 

[JBeukema]

If only they'd been thinking about these problems for the past 40 years, imagine what technology we might have had on hand when it happened...

 

[Ravi]

If only they'd been thinking about these problems for the past 40 years, imagine what technology we might have had on hand when it happened...

Yes...it would be great if we were the kind of country that prepared for disasters but apparently we aren't.

In case *ahem* someone hasn't noticed, it has been over a week.