Steve Arend
04-04-2006, 03:45 PM
As the St. Lawrence Seaway opens for its 47th season, huge sea going vessels will begin plying the Great Lakes again. The ships represent an important part of the region's economy and a competitive edge in the increasingly globalized economy.
But some of those ships may also carry unintended cargo and a serious threat to our way of life.
We're not talking dirty bombs or chemical weapons. We're talking about alien creatures from distant waterways, stowed away in ballast tanks, that find a new home in the Great Lakes basin and often undermine indigenous species.
Congress misses the boat on invasive species (http://www.record-eagle.com/2006/mar/29edit.htm)
But some of those ships may also carry unintended cargo and a serious threat to our way of life.
We're not talking dirty bombs or chemical weapons. We're talking about alien creatures from distant waterways, stowed away in ballast tanks, that find a new home in the Great Lakes basin and often undermine indigenous species.
Congress misses the boat on invasive species (http://www.record-eagle.com/2006/mar/29edit.htm)