How BP can clean up its mess

To: Tony Hayward, chief executive of BP

Dear Mr. Hayward,

The environmental catastrophe unfolding on the U.S. coast of the Gulf of Mexico is bad for your company, bad for Americans and worse yet for our natural treasures. Here are suggestions as to how you can minimize the damage and regain some respect among the American public.

Engage the public. Trust private enterprise. Trust the judgment and ingenuity of the American people.

You cannot afford enough ships and crews to cleanse the entire sea.

You cannot win the hearts and minds of coastal residents by hiring them as laborers. American fishermen are fiercely independent. They resent working for anyone, especially the company that caused the problem. Every offer you make will be viewed as bribery or charity, both of which are bitter as gall to them.

They do, however, respect a trade. So, offer to buy back your oil at a price that will entice them to skim and deliver it to you. There's probably no other stretch on Earth that has as much available capacity as the Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi coasts, including barges, tankers, fishing boats, recreational boats -- and an incredibly resourceful workforce. Fishermen and watermen (including women) are accustomed to handling about as much fuel as fish, and they can do wonders with anything that floats. You will be astounded by the clever solutions they will invent for harvesting, separating and transporting oil. Skimmers based, for instance, on standard sheets of marine plywood would have to move only about 200 feet to skim one barrel of oil where the oil is one millimeter thick. So, skimming runs wouldn't be impossibly long even when the oil is fairly thin or scattered.

Position numerous oil barges and/or small tankers around and within the oil slick. Equip each with hoists to load and exchange metal barrels, hoses and pumps to draw from larger containers such as fishing-boat holds. Exchange your empty barrels for their full ones.

Announce a price above market rate, say $100 or more per barrel, discounted for seawater content -- which can be determined by specific gravity (e.g., weighing while hoisting) or other familiar means -- and adjust the price based on the number of takers and rate of collection.

Anticipate hundreds or thousands of small boats. Ask the U.S. Coast Guard to direct traffic and enforce safety measures and hazardous materials regulations, but do what you can to help (for example, receiving recreational boats with metal containers on one side and larger boats on the opposite side of each tanker, or perhaps using different tankers for each type).

Anticipate health risks. Ask the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to advise on where harvesters can find thick oil with tolerable fumes.

Position numerous lighters to continually resupply small boats, providing fuel and necessities and on-site maintenance, especially for oil-gummed equipment.