technology
X Prize Foundation Announces $10 Million Oil Disaster Cleanup Challenge
Have an innovative solution to clean up the BP oil disaster in the Gulf? Now's your chance to be heard--and make some money in the process. At the TEDxOilSpill conference this morning, Francis Beland, VP, Prize Development at the X Prize Foundation announced a sweet incentive for figuring out a way to mop up BP's mess: a $10 million X Prize.
The prize is a testament to the difficulty of stopping the oil spill--similarly large X Prizes have been offered for DNA sequencing technology, fuel-efficient vehicles, and robotic moon missions. No word yet on requirements for winners, but Beland is already soliciting suggestions at francis@xprize.org. Details will be announced in the coming weeks.
This is a prime opportunity for anyone who has tried (and failed) to reach BP directly with potential disaster fixes. And with the oil leak growing by the day--oil and tar balls reached Mississippi beaches for the first time today--there is little time to waste.
Of course, no one's yet said whether BP has agreed to let the winner actually try and fix the leak (we contacted the X Prize Foundation and have not yet received a response), so this could just be the 909th thing BP ignores.
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