It is beyond comprehension that in a country that has sent men to the moon, there is no technology available to stop the oil that continues to gush from the blown out oil well at bottom of the Gulf of Mexico.

It is not so hard to comprehend all the stories coming out about the cozy relationship between the oil companies and the government agencies that were created to police them.

I'm not going to get into any bipartisan bickering on this topic because I think it's something that has been going on for years, under Democratic and Republican leadership.

The good news is that there are ways to clean up the mess that's being created and, if the powers that be are smart, it could involve natural, environmentally friendly biomass. While many of us can only watch news coverage of the devastating effects of the oil spill on the news and wring our hands in frustration, others are trying to come up with solutions.

One of those people is Adria Brown, president and CEO of Recovery I Inc., a Michigan-based company that sells environmentally friendly products that are used to clean up oil and chemical spills. Her company's method called Golden Retriever involves using dried corncobs. The cobs can be dropped on to the spill, where they soak up the contaminants. The cobs can then be collected and the oil can be separated from the cobs using a centrifuge.

Brown is working with Feeders Grain and Supply of Corning, Iowa, to collect cobs and has managed to stockpile about 34,000 tons, much of it from the U.S. Midwest.

"To get 34,000 tons is beyond a miracle because it's not harvest time," Brown said when I spoke to her on Thursday. Brown is still collecting the cobs and reminds people that the cobs can't be in pieces or pulverized. "It's their natural rotation that allows them to keep absorbing," she said.

Brown says Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and his staff in Washington, D.C., have assisted her by making sure that documents and required paperwork to the various agencies arrived at their appropriate destinations. "I am grateful for their support," says Brown, who hopes to get a contract and be able to go to work.

Another biomass company, Centerview, Mo.-based Show Me Energy, is also touting its product that the company says is capable of absorbing 800 gallons of oil per ton. Check out his video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZw_bs4WdA0.

I'm sure there are other biomass companies vying to use their products to clean up the oil spill and we'll report on them as we learn more.

In the past, chemical dispersants have been used to treat oil spills and the result has been less than stellar. Let's hope these companies get a chance to show the government the benefits of biomass.