Kevin Costner’s Oil Spill Machines & Waterworld

The New York Times recently published an article on Kevin Costner, who was so disturbed by the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989 that he invested in oil separation machines shortly thereafter. Costner partnered with Ocean Therapy Solutions and donated millions of his own money toward the development of oil separation machines, should such an oil spill occur in the future.

Now, as everyone is scrambling to control and clean up the BP oil spill, Ocean Therapy claims to have six of its 32 oil separation machines ready for testing. Costner said that the larger machines can separate 200 gallons a minute, which works out to around 210,000 gallons of oil from water a day. Ocean Therapy is waiting for BP’s approval to test the machines.

The New York Times article suggests the story evokes the tagline of Costner’s movie Field of Dreams. You know, “If you build it, they will come?”

I can’t help but think of another Kevin Costner film: Waterworld. In that post-apocalyptic film, a group called the smokers — led by Dennis Hopper — take as their base an old rusted out oil tanker. The name of this oil tanker? You guessed it, the Exxon Valdez.

It may be easier to pick up on the environmental issues at the heart of this action film when watching it today. Apocalyptic films like The Day after Tomorrow and 2012 have shown us that environmental catastrophies can make some of the best disaster movies. The post-apocalyptic Waterworld was a result of the polar ice caps melting, which then flooded the Earth completely. (If you’re looking for less action, check out our list of five must-watch water movies.)

In Waterworld, Kevin Costner plays “the Mariner,” one of many mutants who have evolved with gills and webbed feet to match their environment. Had the film not been one of the biggest flops of its day, I wonder if Costner would entertain a sequel based on the recent BP oilpocalypse? At the rate the current oil spill cleanup is going, we may evolve before it is stopped.

Let’s hope Kevin Costner and Ocean Therapy’s oil spill machines can prevent that, or else — like the Exxon Valdez — we may be seeing a BP oil tanker in the next environmental disaster film..