Critical Juncture

With this news, it looks like the Asian Carp situation in the Great Lakes Basin  is at a critical juncture. Carp are continuing to make progress toward our waters. Sadly it's happening concurrently with the BP oil leak in the Gulf.

I find I'm at a crossroads with the Obama Administration. It's beginning to feel like the environment is low on the President's list of priorities. In the first round of litigation and negotiation on the Asian Carp situation he showed himself to be almost completely environmentally unaware - siding with his native Chicago to keep the locks open at all costs. Illinois officials cite a few million in lost revenue as the only reason for this decision. Nevemind the billions in lost revenue to surrounding basin states, as well as decades of environmental devastation to the Great Lakes. But Obama proved toed the line with his native state.

Then the BP spill happens. I don't pretend to fully understand the complexity of a fix, but it is pretty easy to see that the inability to fix this situation is at the intersection of big company inefficiency and bureaucratic ineptitude. Seen an interview with an EPA official? They all pretty much just say, "I dunno' -- ask BP..." every time. And BP's no better. Ever worked with a big company? If you have, you know they're not exactly known for their ability to nimbly adapt to the unexpected. And, where is Obama in all this? Honestly, I don't really know. Yet he can hammer through an uprecedented healthcare reform in record time. Why can't this same focus come to the environment? What Obama did was to override the analysis-paralysis of government and force his agenda. That's what's needed here, too.

The BP spill is complicated. Just a quick fix at 5,000 feet is no simple matter. Asian Carp is much simpler. Shut the locks. Now. Tell Illinois to just deal with it -- it's part of a greater good for the Great Lakes region. Then seal off all the tribs to the Mississippi. After that's done then the Corps of Engineers and all the other governmental agencies can do all the studies they want (all funded with OUR tax dollars -- awesome). But the stop the advance FIRST. The Marine Corps has a guiding philosophy that an 80% confidence level is good enough and avoids the negative consequences of making no leadership decision. That model seems to work pretty well for them -- let's run with it.

There you go, President Obama -- let's see some of that decisive leadership that got you this opportunity. Step up. This may not be important to you, but to a lot of people it is.

-Sean-