This is not the most well researched diary, but I had to try and get it out there in the very short time available... It occurs to me that if the logistics could be put in place quickly enough, it may be possible to lessen the impact of the spill by dumping, say, a million cubic feet of grass clippings on top of and just ahead of it, as well as on the beaches, etc. The mess would be unbelievable, but much of the oil would be stuck to something which is not part of the coastal ecosystem, which might offer some hope of a more effective cleanup.
The above is based on the assumptions that:
- Every gallon of oil that is soaked up by something not part of the coastal ecosystem lessens the impact of the spill.
- There are huge amounts of biomass available within a few miles of the coast, in the form of (e.g.)household garden refuse which has been collected over the weekend (e.g. grass clippings, dead leaves, etc)
- There is a large pre-existing existing infrastructure (e.g. garbage collection, recycling, yard-waste collection svcs) to move large volumes of matter from a household setting to landfills, etc. It could be pressed into service to take sacrificial biomass down to the coast instead.
- Dispersal from there could be by any and all means at hand; Since the requirement is not sophisticated (go to an area with free floating oil and dump stuff on it) the effort would be amenable to a Dunkirk-style effort with everything from small craft to warships pressed into service.
- When the whole ugly mess washes ashore, it will still be a herculean task to clean it up, but much of the contaminated matter will hopefully be inconsequential to the future health of the ecosystem.
That's all I'm going to be able to write; just maybe it might get picked up by someone in a position to run with it.