Can human hair and pantyhose save the Gulf? Well, no, it can't. The oil slickspreading from a damaged drilling rig off the coast of Louisiana is already too massive for any quick fix, no matter how well intended. But the environmental calamity has inspired a quirky...

Workers in the Gulf of Mexico are using oil containment booms to sop up oil and protect coastlines from the approaching slick. Commercial booms are usually made of plastic. But an alternative source for the booms is found on the floor of salons across the country. As...