Posted by Bel. The time is 3pm here in Wellington, NZ.
Yes, Kevin Field of Dreams Costner. Kevin Dances With Wolves Costner. Kevin - dare I say it - Waterworld Costner. And no, it doesn't involve him having to drink his own filtered urine.
Turns out that him and his scientist brother, Dan Costner, have developed something called Ocean Therapy which cleans oil from saltwater. BP have given permission for it to be put to use in the clean-up of the exploded rig in the Gulf of Mexico.
An artist's impression of Costner activating the technology.
Now, you're thinking to yourself, that's pretty bloody random, but good on 'im - long as he doesn't get all Sean Penn about it.
But the thing is, this isn't just a flash in the pan. Costner has been working collaboratively on environmental technology for 15 or so years now. Apparently a license was first obtained for the machine in 1993 and $US40 million has been sunk into the project over the years.
There are some doubts over how effective this new approach can be, but as the US Government stands aside and the oil threatens the coastlines, it seems that even clutching at straws is better than nothing.
The CEO of Ocean Therapy Solutions says that the Exxon Valdez spill of 1989 was their devastating inspiration - and as this stunning infographic shows, the fact that that BP have still not been able to staunch the underwater leak means this disaster surpasses that in terms of havoc wreaked and severity of blame which must be accorded.
Sources: here and here.
This is almost surreal - like, if it works won't that just be the most bizarre thing ever?! "Kevin Costner saves ocean" - perhaps he'll then take on ol' Arnie and become the next actor-turned-politician and champion the environmental cause all the way to the White House?
And then maybe the two of them can do some kind of meta-bio pic/action film about it? Kind of like Alien vs Predator except with hard hitting environmental legislature sweeping through the Senate?