The Great Lakes are doomed

[liberal N proud]

Court won't close shipping locks to keep out carp

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. - The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to order immediate closure of shipping locks near Chicago to prevent Asian carp from infesting the Great Lakes.

The court rejected a request by Michigan for a preliminary injunction to close the locks temporarily while a long-term solution is sought to the threatened invasion by the ravenous fish. The one-sentence ruling didn't explain the court's reasoning.

Asian carp, primarily bighead and silver varieties, have been migrating up the Mississippi and Illinois rivers toward the Great Lakes for decades. They have swarmed waterways near Chicago leading to Lake Michigan.

Scientists fear that if they reach the lakes, they could disrupt the food chain and endanger the $7 billion fishery.

The biggest Asian carp can reach 4 feet in length and weigh 100 pounds while consuming up to 40 percent of their body weight daily in plankton, the foundation of the Great Lakes food web.

Many scientists say they could starve out popular species such as trout and salmon.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34936328/ns/business/

[Motown_Johnny]

1. what an insane ruling that is...

they could portage the cargo around the locks



I hope this can be overturned by a higher court

[blue_onyx]

6. It came from the US Supreme Court

There is no higher court.

What's even more disappointing is that President Obama agrees. I guess Chicago/Illinois economic interest is more important than protecting the Great Lakes.

[Motown_Johnny]

12. holy shit, you are right.... doomed

Man, I have stuck with Obama through everything but this one has me wondering.

[sharesunited]

2. We just need a bounty placed on the carp so they will be fished into extinction.

Subsidized fish protein made available in livestock country?

Do it.

[derby378]

5. Sounds good to me

More fish for everyone, plus we help preserve the Great Lakes and their ecosystems.

[GliderGuider]

14. Declare them an endangered species and give them the same protection as the Northern Cod got...

They'll be extinct in five years.

Problem solved.

[Gman2]

20. Tell asian nations that it will help their boner.

[Berry Cool]

3. Uh-oh.

Look for the new disaster movie at a theater near you: "The Carp That Ate Cleveland"!

"Hey, don't bogart our walleye...AHGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

[L0oniX]

4. To be fair, they do have an electric barrier to keep them and other types from getting to the lakes.

http://www.lrc.usace.army.mil/projects/fish_barrier/index.html

I would also add that the other danger from Chicago is the massive pollution it has been pumping in to the Lake Michigan since the start of the city.

[blue_onyx]

7. Which don't seem to be working

"New research shows the fish likely have made it past the $9 million electric fish barrier on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, a source familiar with the situation told the Journal Sentinel late Thursday."

http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/70573047.html

[FedUpWithIt All]

8. This is not good news.

:(

Carp are voracious consumers and the lakes have already been under stress for years.

[LeftinOH]

9. Use them for fertilizer -there must be some commercial use for them (until they're

hopefully wiped out).

[Tesha]

10. Try to think of it as evolution in action.

Mankind has made quite few changes to the planet;
this is just one if the more-recent ones.

:(

Tesha

[Saturday]

11. I saw a program on TV....

and I don't remember where but it was saying in certain parts of the world the asian carp is a delicacy. Why not fish it? We've fished other fish to extinction in open waters, why not fish this dangerous carp to be used for food?

[Richard D]

13. If it's the same carp served in China

it's quite delicious.

[kayla9170]

15. This is CRAP!!!!!!!

We do not want those bloodsuckers taking away our Trout and Salmon.....salmon is so good by the way. I know that Governor Granholm went to bat on this one with the federal government. What else can the residents of Michigan do? These are OUR lakes and we should have a say on what is in them.

[Motown_Johnny]

17. Boycott products shipped through the locks?

[snot]

16. Illinois and Obama opposed the closure --

and what corps.?

[Motown_Johnny]

18. any chance Canada could protest since we would be allowing these fish into their waters?

[sandyj999]

19. Let's Put the Fishing Industry out of Work Too.

This is totally wrong and what is really wrong is that Obama isn't being impartial.

[Gman2]

21. Have Monsanto develop a killer GM Carp.

[closeupready]

22. Do people really eat fish from those heavily polluted lakes?

Yeesh.

[liberal N proud]

23. Personally, No Way, but...

The rivers and streams in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota and Canada are OK.

And there is a lot of fishing on the lakes, private and charter. Remember last winter when all the ice fishers were stranded on Lake Erie?

It is a huge business all around the Great Lakes.

[Motown_Johnny]

25. not everything is near a city, if they get through these locks they can get through the Soo Locks

[AngryAmish]

29. Sure. Best salmon fishing in the world.

[closeupready]

32. Wow. I grew up about an hour away, and never knew that, lol.

I would never have touched Great Lakes' fish with my bare hands, let alone eat it.

I'm probably just paranoid, or old, or something. ;) :hi:

[cbdo2007]

24. It's ok....this shouldn't effect my Lake Superior Agate searching.

[Motown_Johnny]

26. Yes, it's ok because only your agate searching matters

[cbdo2007]

28. Thank you for the support!

[AngryAmish]

27. I suspect that the lakes themselves will survive.

They will continue to exist.

That said, fishermen have been jumping up and down about this problem for more than a decade. Nobody listened.

What should be done? Poison the Chicago river, des plaines and all the canals for about twenty miles inland. THen put up a ton of electric barriers.

[Motown_Johnny]

30. portage around the locks

use rail


screw the locks. shut them down

[AngryAmish]

31. Actually that is not a bad idea

Good for jobs at least.