Page 28 - ARUBA TODAY

A28 SCIENCE
Tuesday 28 May 2019

Army Corps approves $778M plan to block Asian carp advance

By JOHN FLESHER species before it inflicts ir-
AP Environmental Writer reparable damage on our
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) Great Lakes and our $7
— The head of the Army billion fishing industry and
Corps of Engineers has sent equally important tourism
Congress a $778 million industry,” said Rep. Marcy
plan to fortify an Illinois wa- Kaptur, an Ohio Democrat
terway with noisemakers, who chairs the Appropria-
electric cables and other tions Subcommittee on En-
devices in the hope that ergy and Water Develop-
they will prevent Asian carp ment.
from reaching the Great Republican Reps. Paul
Lakes, where the aggres- Mitchell and Bill Huizenga
sive invaders could leave of Michigan also pledged
other fish with too little to support.
eat. Bipartisan teamwork will be
Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite essential, particularly given
on Thursday approved the the plan’s escalating cost,
plan to install defenses at said Molly Flanagan of
the Brandon Road Lock the Alliance for the Great
and Dam near Joliet, Il- Lakes.
linois, about 40 miles from A draft released in 2017
Lake Michigan. The site is estimated that the project
a crucial choke point in an In this June 13, 2012, file photo, Asian carp, jolted by an electric current from a research boat, would cost $275 million.
aquatic pathway between jump from the Illinois River near Havana, Ill. The final version put the
the lake and the carp-in- Associated Press price tag at $778 million,
fested Illinois River. Asian carp have been said Marc Smith of the Na- after the Army Corps of- and that would be under
The plan represents a com- found past the barrier, the tional Wildlife Federation. fered a series of options an “expedited” scenario
promise between propos- fish’s DNA has turned up “It will significantly reduce for blocking the carp’s ad- in which the various tech-
als to erect barriers that there as recently as April, the risk.” vance. nologies would be installed
would seal off Lake Michi- when water samples were The plan calls for install- It’s now up to Congress to at the same time. It could
gan from the river and less taken from Chicago’s Lake ing a gantlet of technolo- decide whether to autho- reach $832 million under an
drastic measures such as Calumet. The Corps says gies intended to repel ap- rize the project and pro- alternative “phased” strat-
stepped-up commercial the leading edge of adult proaching fish, including vide most of the funding. A egy, spokesman Allen Mar-
fishing. bighead and silver carp additional electric barriers pending House bill recom- shall said.
Environmentalists and — the most feared of sev- and underwater speakers mends $3.8 million for pre- Another key will be get-
states including Michigan eral Asian species because that would blast loud nois- construction, engineering ting financial support from
had argued for physical they gorge on plankton es, plus an “air bubble cur- and design work in 2020. Great Lakes states. The
separation, while Illinois and that other fish need — is tain.” A specially designed The expected completion Army Corps generally re-
Indiana contended that it about four miles from the “flushing lock” would wash date is March 2027. quires non-federal partners
would disrupt cargo ship- Brandon Road complex. away carp that might be “With the Asian Carp on to pay 35 percent of a proj-
ping and that a Chicago- “The Brandon Road project floating on the water as the doorstep of our region’s ect’s construction costs,
area electric barrier was is the only shot we have to vessels pass through. most vital natural resource, although Congress could
keeping the carp at bay. get additional protections Semonite’s endorsement we have a small window waive some or all of the
Although only a few live in place to stop the carp,” came more than five years of time to stop this invasive requirement.q

Nobel-winning physicist

Murray Gell-Man dies at 89

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Mur- particles into simple groups “It would be hard to over-
ray Gell-Mann, the Nobel of eight — based on elec- estimate the degree to
Prize-winning physicist who tric charge, spin and other which Murray dominated
brought order to the uni- characteristics. He called theoretical particle phys-
verse by helping discover his method the “eightfold ics during his heyday in the
and classify subatomic par- way” after the Buddhist 1950s and 1960s.
In this Nov. 14, 2003, file photo, Santa Fe Institute co-founder ticles, has died at the age Eightfold Path to enlighten- He contributed so many
Murray Gell-Mann, winner of the 1969 Nobel Prize for physics, is of 89. ment. deep ideas that drove
seen Santa Fe Institute in Santa Fe, N.M. Gell-Mann died Friday at Later Gell-Man developed the field forward, many of
Associated Press
his home in Santa Fe, New the theory that identified which are just as relevant
Mexico. His death was con- “quarks,” indivisible com- today,” said John Preskill,
firmed by the Santa Fe In- ponents of Earth’s matter the Richard P. Feynman
stitute, where he held the that make up protons, neu- Professor of Theoretical
title of distinguished fellow, trons and other particles. Physics at Caltech.
and the California Institute Experiments confirmed the In 1969, Gell-Man was hon-
of Technology, where he existence of quarks, and ored with the Nobel Prize
taught for decades. The these objects now form the in Physics “for his contribu-
cause was not disclosed. basis for our physical under- tions and discoveries con-
Gell-Mann transformed standing of the universe, cerning the classification of
physics by devising a meth- Caltech said in a state- elementary particles and
od for sorting subatomic ment. their interactions.” q