Thursday...
A federal appeals panel has rejected the request of five Great Lakes states to close Chicago-area shipping locks. But the panel warned yesterday that if ongoing efforts to stop the advance of Asian carp halt or drag, the issue could be revisited.
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A native of China with no known predators in the United States, Asian carp have out-competed native fish populations for food, jeopardizing the Great Lakes’ $7 billion annual commercial and recreational-fishing industry.
via www.dispatch.com
Friday...
The toxic algae that spreads across the western basin of Lake Erie each summer is the worst recorded since researchers started tracking the problem in 2002.
In fact, this “bloom” of blue-green algae is more than twice as dense as the record bloom that plagued the lake in the summer of 2009, according to tests performed by the University of Toledo.
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The algae pose a threat to the lake’s $10 billion annual tourism industry. In addition to threatening the health of people and pets, the algae also help create a vast oxygen-depleted dead zone where fish can’t live.
via www.dispatch.com