"Michigan sues to protect lake from carp" by Washington Post | December 28, 2009
Asian carp jumped out of the Illinois River early this month after being disturbed by sounds of watercraft. Many fear that the carp will starve native fish by gobbling up plankton. (Illinois River Biological Station via The Detroit Free Press And AP)
They going to be able to jump the electric fences, too.
WASHINGTON - The reversal of the Chicago River a century ago, to send the city’s sewage to the Mississippi River instead of into Lake Michigan, was hailed as an engineering marvel. Now Michigan is suing Illinois to potentially reverse the river again to prevent the movement of voracious, invasive Asian carp into the lake.
The suit, which is going to the Supreme Court, also challenges Chicago’s withdrawal of up to 2 billion gallons of water a day from Lake Michigan.
Environmental groups have long called for the ecological separation of the Great Lakes from the Mississippi River basin to curb the spread of invasive species and to retain Great Lakes water in the Great Lakes basin.
The Chicago River was reversed by connecting it through a system of canals to rivers whose waters flow into the Mississippi.
Since 2002, the US Army Corps of Engineers has run an electric barrier in the canal to block Asian carp. But tests by the University of Notre Dame and the Nature Conservancy in the fall found Asian carp DNA beyond the barrier near Lake Michigan, indicating that it might have failed to keep the voracious fish at bay.
If Asian carp make it into the Great Lakes, environmentalists and policy makers say, they could wipe out plankton that makes up the base of the food chain.But globalization is great.
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"US weighs costs of fighting invasive species" by Juliet Eilperin, Washington Post | February 1, 2010
WASHINGTON - Invasive species - long the cause of environmental hand-wringing - have been raising more unwelcome questions recently, as the expense of eliminating them is weighed against the mounting liability of leaving them be.
Which is worse? Closing two locks on a critical waterway that is used to ship millions of dollars’ worth of goods from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi basin? Or allowing a voracious Asian carp to chow down on the native fish sustaining a Midwestern fishing industry that nets $7 billion a year?
And how do you put a price tag on the damage caused by the Burmese python and other constrictor snakes that are strangling the precious ecology of the Everglades? Questions like those became more urgent last week, when a team of scientists led by the University of Notre Dame disclosed that silver carp dominating stretches of the Mississippi River and its tributaries had infiltrated Lake Michigan.
The federal government had spent $22 million on electric barriers in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal to keep carp out, but it clearly was not enough. An additional $33 million is going into the effort next year.
Yeah, let's keep doing what hasn't worked!
And isn't GLOBALIZATION GRAND?
A coalition of six Great Lakes states and the Canadian province of Ontario have sought a preliminary injunction from the Supreme Court to shut down two major locks immediately on the grounds that an Asian carp invasion would cause “irreparable harm.’’
The court declined to grant the injunction last month, but it will accept briefs soon on the broader question of whether to close them at all.
Army Corps of Engineers officials say it is too early to shut down the locks. They are focused on building a third electrical barrier to provide yet another obstacle to Asian carp infiltrating Lake Michigan.
“It’s not a silver bullet, but it’s a good tool to impede the movement of the silver and bighead carp,’’ said Colonel Vincent Quarles, commander of the Army Corps’ Chicago District.
But if it DOESN'T STOP THEM!!??
But the barriers are not surefire, and specialists say it is difficult to say how many Asian carp would have to make it through to establish a viable population.
How about 2, one male, one female?
US officials have been fighting invasive species for many years, but efforts have intensified in recent years as the impact has become clear. For instance, zebra and quagga mussels that were once restricted to the Great Lakes have moved west, clogging systems at critical dams.
Related: The Day Boston Went Dry
Yup, they've made it out here.
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"US unveils plan to restore Great Lakes" by Associated Press | February 22, 2010
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. - The Obama administration has developed a five-year blueprint for rescuing the Great Lakes, a sprawling ecosystem plagued by toxic contamination, shrinking wildlife habitat, and invasive species.
The plan envisions spending more than $2.2 billion for long-awaited repairs after a century of damage to the lakes....
Yeah, we spent all our tax loot on wars and bank bonuses, 'er, bailouts.
Among the goals is a “zero tolerance policy’’ toward future invasions by foreign species, including the Asian carp, a huge, ravenous fish that has overrun portions of the Mississippi River system and is threatening to enter Lake Michigan.
Others include cleanup of the region’s most heavily polluted sites, restoring wetlands and other crucial habitat, and improving water quality in shallow areas, where runoff from cities and farms has led to unsightly algae blooms and beach closings.
(And oddly, that is why the Asian carp was imported in the first place)
Also promised is a strategy for monitoring the ecosystem’s health and holding federal agencies accountable for the plan....
Forgive me if I do not hold my breath on that one.
"Haste urged to halt invasive carp’s advance" by Associated Press | July 1, 2010
DETROIT — A group of lawmakers yesterday said that the idea to stop the spread of the invasive Asian carp by permanently separating waterways linking the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes should be looked at with increased urgency.
Combine this with the Gulf Gusher and SOON America's WATERWAYS will be DEAD ZONES!!!
Related: Can't Beat Them? Eat Them
Actually, I don't like eating fish:
Heavy Metal Contamination Makes Eating Fish a Crap Shoot
Also see: The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
Whatever you do, don't toss them back.
US Senators Debbie Stabenow of Michigan and Dick Durbin of Illinois, both Democrats, introduced the Permanent Prevention of Asian Carp Act in the Senate to speed up research. Representative Dave Camp, Republican of Michigan, introduced it in the House.
Here the horses are running out of the barn (or the fish jumping the fences, if you prefer) and Congress is talking research.
But if it is the GLOBAL-WARMING CARBON TAX.... NO FURTHER RESEARCH NEEDED despite the LIES!!!!!!
The lawmakers’ action comes after officials announced last week that an Asian carp had been found for the first time beyond electric barriers meant to keep them out of the Great Lakes. Commercial fishermen landed the 3-foot-long, 20-pound bighead carp in Lake Calumet on Chicago’s South Side, about 6 miles from Lake Michigan.
It is just ONE FAILURE AFTER ANOTHER with THIS GOVERNMENT!
The legislation would require the US Army Corps of Engineers to complete research on so-called hydrological separation within 18 months. The Army Corps has said research could take up to five years.
By then the Great Lakes are DEAD except for CARP!
“While this method would require a complex feat of engineering, we need to understand the costs and benefits and whether this method offers the best hope for . . .containing not only the carp, but other invasive species,’’ Durbin.
Which is really NO HOPE at all.
Why am I feeling all Gulf Gushy?
BP's Relief Well Is Not a Slam Dunk
Turns out it MAY NOT WORK AT ALL because the WELL CASING in the SEA FLOOR has deteriorated.
But it's our BEST HOPE!
Jim Farrell, executive director of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce’s Infrastructure Council, said there are other options that should be explored to keep the carp out, such as expanding electric barriers or conducting fish kills.
Even thought those HAVE NOT WORKED all this time.
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Time for DINNER -- if you can reel 'em in!!
A 20-pound Asian carp that made it past electrical barriers was caught last month near Lake Michigan. (State of Illinois via Associated Press)
"5 Great Lakes states file suit to stem Asian carp invasion" by Associated Press | July 20, 2010
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Despite being rebuffed twice by the US Supreme Court, five states filed suit yesterday with a lower federal court demanding tougher federal and municipal action to prevent Asian carp from overrunning the Great Lakes and decimating their fishing industry.
Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania said in their complaint that the situation had become more dire since a live bighead carp was found last month in a Chicago-area waterway only 6 miles from Lake Michigan — well past an electric barrier designed to block the voracious fish’s path.
“Asian carp will kill jobs and ruin our way of life,’’ Mike Cox, Michigan attorney general, said in a statement. “We cannot afford more bureaucratic delays.’’
Yeah, interesting how ramming a carbon tax down your throat took a year of valuable attention while this real threat needs study after study with the same failed solutions.
And if you are asking me for solutions I have none; however, I had nothing to do with creating the problem. I just want it fixed.
The suit was filed in US District Court in northern Illinois. It accuses the Army Corps of Engineers and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago of creating a public nuisance by operating locks, gates, and other infrastructure through which the carp could enter the lakes.
The government let 'em in?
Can't they do anything without f***ing it up?
Messages seeking comment were left with the Army Corps in Chicago, Department of Justice, and Chicago water district.
I take that as a no.
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"Groups study severing Great Lakes link" by Associated Press | July 23, 2010
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Groups representing states and cities in the Great Lakes region initiated a $2 million study yesterday of how to slam the door on exotic species such as Asian carp by cutting links between the lakes and the Mississippi River watershed.
The 18-month project will develop options for physically separating the two water systems.
By that time the Lakes will be infested and there will be no way to stop them.
They were joined artificially a century ago with the creation of a Chicago-area waterway that has helped destructive invaders such as zebra mussels spread as far west as California.
I'm beginning to wonder if we are better off leaving well enough alone as God and Nature intended.
“Ecological separation is the only way we’re going to permanently protect against invasive species,’’ said Tim Eder, executive director of the Great Lakes Commission, which represents eight states adjoining the lakes. “Everything short of that is likely to fail.’’
See ya in court!
The US Army Corps of Engineers has promised to investigate separation as part of a long-range analysis of exotic species movement between the two water systems. But that could take several years, while advocates of separation want quicker action....
But YOU are HEATING up the planet with your GAS, 'murkn!
Bighead and silver carp pose the latest threat. Imported from Asia in the early 1970s to clear algae from Southern fish farms and sewage plants, they escaped into the Mississippi and have migrated northward.
Separating the water systems probably would require approval of Congress — which would provide much of the funding — as well as state and local officials.
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That's like a story a month, isn't it?
