Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Follow-up on the Asian Carp in Lake Michigan
Things aren't looking good for Lake Michigan. According to this story the US Supreme Court rejected an injunction from all the Great Lake states (except Illinois) and the province of Ontario to close the locks in Chicago, the likely avenue by which the Asian Carp will gain access to the lake system. The US President, having close ties to Chicago, has sided with Illinois, citing economic disruption and flooding. The US Army corps of engineers is betting on their electric fence to keep the voracious feeders out. Biologists have recently found Asian carp DNA in Lake Michigan. It constitutes a terrible example of myopic planning. In order to protect one important economic aspect of one city, the US is willing to put the entire fishery of Lake Michigan at risk. This post is a follow up to my Jan 9 post entitled "Another Great Story."
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Another great story
Heard another great story on NPR here.
This story has some of my favorite elements: a great engineering feat, an invasive species, history, and planning issues.
About a hundred years ago the city of Chicago dug a series of canals that caused the Chicago river to run backwards. This allowed them to send wastewater away from their drinking water source of Lake Michigan, and created an important transportation link between the Mississippi River system and the Great Lakes. Other states on the Lakes sued in 1922, fearing the level of Lake Michigan would drop. Decades later the US supreme court ruled that Chicago could continue to drain the lake, but left open the possibility that the canal locks could be closed if the neighboring states could prove that they are causing harm. Enter the Asian carp.
The Asian carp has been detected seven miles below the locks. It is a voracious feeder, and if it gets into the lake system, the environmental impact would be disastrous. Recreational fishing alone provides billions of dollars to the regional economies. The state of Michigan is using the threat of the carp to try to get the locks closed. A lot of industry has grown up around the locks and thousands of jobs would be affected if they close.
NPR followed the Chicago story with a more positive Asian carp story. Turns out they aren't bad to eat. They interview a Louisiana chef who speaks of carp in terms of being similar to scallops and crab meat. Yum.
This story has some of my favorite elements: a great engineering feat, an invasive species, history, and planning issues.
About a hundred years ago the city of Chicago dug a series of canals that caused the Chicago river to run backwards. This allowed them to send wastewater away from their drinking water source of Lake Michigan, and created an important transportation link between the Mississippi River system and the Great Lakes. Other states on the Lakes sued in 1922, fearing the level of Lake Michigan would drop. Decades later the US supreme court ruled that Chicago could continue to drain the lake, but left open the possibility that the canal locks could be closed if the neighboring states could prove that they are causing harm. Enter the Asian carp.
The Asian carp has been detected seven miles below the locks. It is a voracious feeder, and if it gets into the lake system, the environmental impact would be disastrous. Recreational fishing alone provides billions of dollars to the regional economies. The state of Michigan is using the threat of the carp to try to get the locks closed. A lot of industry has grown up around the locks and thousands of jobs would be affected if they close.
NPR followed the Chicago story with a more positive Asian carp story. Turns out they aren't bad to eat. They interview a Louisiana chef who speaks of carp in terms of being similar to scallops and crab meat. Yum.
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