The prospects of removing the oil polluting the Gulf of Mexico are not good, and it may be years before the toxic oil and dispersants used on it will be removed using current technologies available to the oil industry. Now some have begun to ask whether the solution lies in advanced technology being released that is extraterrestrial in origin, and has been kept secret in classified military projects. Some go a step further and are calling for alien intervention to stop the leak. A petition calling for extraterrestrials to show up and assist humanity on a range of global problems passed 10,000 signatures around the same time as the Gulf oil leak appeared. Signatories believe that a request by the general public for assistance will be heard and answered by extraterrestrials monitoring Earth, who are waiting for public requests to intervene to assist in global problems such as the Gulf oil leak.