New Asian Carp Evidence
There is new evidence that Asian carp may have slipped past electric barriers in Chicago-area waterways. The barriers are meant to keep the fish from reaching the Great Lakes, Rick Pluta reports. From Pluta:
The news has launched a new wave of arguments over the threat posed by the invasive species. The Army Corps of Engineers turned up nine positive tests for Asian carp DNA out of hundreds taken from Chicago-area waterways. Federal officials say that’s not proof the invasive species is getting closer to Lake Michigan, or that it poses an imminent threat of infesting the Great Lakes. The state of Michigan is suing the federal government to get the shipping locks shut down as an emergency precaution.
Gov’t to Chrysler: Bye-Bye
The U.S. Treasury Department says Italian automaker Fiat SpA has bought the U.S. government’s remaining holdings in Chrysler. “Fiat paid $560 million to the Treasury Department for the government's 98,000 shares. Fiat has run the company since it emerged from bankruptcy protection in June 2009. Treasury provided a total of $12.5 billion to Chrysler and its financing arm after the recession hampered auto sales and sent Chrysler and General Motors to the brink of collapse. The funds came from the government's $700 billion bank bailout fund,” the Associated Press reports.
Michigan in the “Toxic 20”
Michigan ranked seventh worst in air population in a study released by the Natural Resources Defense Council. The NRDC study found almost half of all toxic air pollution came from coal and oil-fired power plants. The NRDC used data from the Environmental Protection Agency's Toxics Release Inventory. Ohio had the worst air population, followed by Pennsylvania, Florida and Kentucky.
