Grinding to a Halt

That’s what will happen with this summit.

The focus of Monday’s White House Asian carp summit is to stop the giant, ecosystem-ravaging fish from slipping in the Great Lakes’ back door - the Chicago canal system that links the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico.

But the governors who called for the summit don’t just want to talk about carp; they want the Obama administration to tackle the larger issue of invasive species in the Great Lakes, which have become an ecological stew teeming with at least 185 foreign organisms.

Originally it was intended to discuss a specific issue.  The whole summit was a bit farcical and for show, but at least it would draw lines on that issue.  Now they want it to be a wide-ranging discussion that must cover dozens - if not hundreds - of issues.  What does that mean?  The original reason for the summit - whether or not to close Chicago’s canal in order to stop the Asian Carp from entering Lake Michigan - will be lost in the shuffle or become a bargaining item for one of the other issues on the table. 

Three to one odds that absolutely nothing substantial happens to stop the carp.