Amber Benson Pictures

Amber Benson Pictures

Amber Benson Pictures

Amber Benson Pictures

Asian Carp

Invasive Asian Carp caught near Lake Michigan

The nightmare scenario of Asian carp entering the Great Lakes through Chicago waterways is closer to reality as the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee announced today they have captured an invasive bighead carp in Lake Calumet, 6 miles away from Lake Michigan.

The fish’s capture Tuesday bolsters repeated environmental DNA tests which have shown that the carp have evaded an electrical barrier intended to prevent their movement out of canals artificially connecting the Great Lakes and Mississippi River system.

Scientists and government regulators agree that the invasive fish pose a dire threat to the Lakes because of their size and voracious appetites.

Environmental groups throughout the Great Lakes have been advocating for quick action to impede the carp’s headlong swim towards Lake Michigan, even as federal officials and business interests have questioned the validity of cutting edge science that pointed to the invasive species’ presence.

In February, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it will not immediately shut down shipping locks near Chicago that link the Mississippi River to the Great Lakes, denying a request by Michigan that was aimed at keeping away invasive Asian carp.

Today’s news brings a renewed call for more agile efforts to prevent the carp’s movement. Many organizations have called for hydrologic separation of the two systems to ensure the movement of the carp and other invasive species is stopped. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently said that a study of this solution will take five to seven years.

"A year of DNA testing has shown the Asian carp are in the Chicago waterways, and now we know they're a hop, skip and jump from Lake Michigan," said Joel Brammeier, president of the Alliance for the Great Lakes. "Invaders will stop at nothing short of bricks and mortar, and time is running short to get that protection in place."

Asian Carp

Invasive Asian Carp caught near Lake Michigan

The nightmare scenario of Asian carp entering the Great Lakes through Chicago waterways is closer to reality as the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee announced today they have captured an invasive bighead carp in Lake Calumet, 6 miles away from Lake Michigan.

The fish’s capture Tuesday bolsters repeated environmental DNA tests which have shown that the carp have evaded an electrical barrier intended to prevent their movement out of canals artificially connecting the Great Lakes and Mississippi River system.

Scientists and government regulators agree that the invasive fish pose a dire threat to the Lakes because of their size and voracious appetites.

Environmental groups throughout the Great Lakes have been advocating for quick action to impede the carp’s headlong swim towards Lake Michigan, even as federal officials and business interests have questioned the validity of cutting edge science that pointed to the invasive species’ presence.

In February, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it will not immediately shut down shipping locks near Chicago that link the Mississippi River to the Great Lakes, denying a request by Michigan that was aimed at keeping away invasive Asian carp.

Today’s news brings a renewed call for more agile efforts to prevent the carp’s movement. Many organizations have called for hydrologic separation of the two systems to ensure the movement of the carp and other invasive species is stopped. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently said that a study of this solution will take five to seven years.

"A year of DNA testing has shown the Asian carp are in the Chicago waterways, and now we know they're a hop, skip and jump from Lake Michigan," said Joel Brammeier, president of the Alliance for the Great Lakes. "Invaders will stop at nothing short of bricks and mortar, and time is running short to get that protection in place."

Asian Carp

Invasive Asian Carp caught near Lake Michigan

The nightmare scenario of Asian carp entering the Great Lakes through Chicago waterways is closer to reality as the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee announced today they have captured an invasive bighead carp in Lake Calumet, 6 miles away from Lake Michigan.

The fish’s capture Tuesday bolsters repeated environmental DNA tests which have shown that the carp have evaded an electrical barrier intended to prevent their movement out of canals artificially connecting the Great Lakes and Mississippi River system.

Scientists and government regulators agree that the invasive fish pose a dire threat to the Lakes because of their size and voracious appetites.

Environmental groups throughout the Great Lakes have been advocating for quick action to impede the carp’s headlong swim towards Lake Michigan, even as federal officials and business interests have questioned the validity of cutting edge science that pointed to the invasive species’ presence.

In February, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it will not immediately shut down shipping locks near Chicago that link the Mississippi River to the Great Lakes, denying a request by Michigan that was aimed at keeping away invasive Asian carp.

Today’s news brings a renewed call for more agile efforts to prevent the carp’s movement. Many organizations have called for hydrologic separation of the two systems to ensure the movement of the carp and other invasive species is stopped. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently said that a study of this solution will take five to seven years.

"A year of DNA testing has shown the Asian carp are in the Chicago waterways, and now we know they're a hop, skip and jump from Lake Michigan," said Joel Brammeier, president of the Alliance for the Great Lakes. "Invaders will stop at nothing short of bricks and mortar, and time is running short to get that protection in place."

memphis beat

TV Tonight: Memphis Beat

The Judging TNT's new cop drama Memphis Beat is less a critical question than a philosophical one. In brief, the series, starring Jason Lee, is mostly a standard-issue summertime basic cable cop procedural, somewhat distinguished by less frantic pacing, a touch more attention to character beats, and a smidgen of local color. So the question is: do you give the show credit for slightly changing up the formula it works with, or do you mark it down for doing far less with the setting and cast than it could have?

You can probably guess from how I phrased that where I come down. I don't believe in grading TV on a curve, because I don't watch TV on a curve. So while I like how Lee's laid-back style translates to a police drama, there's not enough here to separate the show from the umpteen other slightly-quirky-guy-solves-crimes cable dramas.

The first sign of trouble: Elvis. I'm not saying this to slight the King, but when you set a show in Memphis and rely for most of your early cultural and musical references on the one artist that 99% of your audience will think of when thinking of your city—here, Elvis songs, Elvis covers, Elvis impersonators—it's not a good sign of your show's imagination. Unlike regional dramas Treme, or Justified, or Friday Night Lights, this is not a show that's trying to get inside its city and make us see it with new eyes; it's just committed to delivering What We Think About When We Think About Memphis.

Here, we're introduced to Memphis detective Dwight (Lee) onstage in a bar, performing, of course, an Elvis cover. As we follow him to work, we find that he's got the same encumbrances as most TV cops, especially a tough new boss (Alfre Woodard) who, of course, is making the old boys in the department uncomfortable by implementing a new set of rules. The first case he picks up ties into Memphis' music heritage by involving an elderly woman who was an early figure in the local music scene, allowing for a further connection to the city's culture. Of course, that means more Elvis references. (The title of the episode? "That's Alright, Mama.")

One possible problem is that the show was largely shot not in Memphis but outside New Orleans, giving the locations a more generic Southernness rather than the documentary-like feel of a show like Treme. And it's a shame, because one thing Memphis Beat does have is a good cast, including, in a supporting cop role, DJ Qualls—whose appearance, however, only recalls the much more vital and distinctive Memphis of the movie "Hustle and Flow."

It's too bad. Memphis Beat had at its disposal the rich culture of a city that hasn't been portrayed to death on TV. But this show needs to find its soul.

memphis beat

TV Tonight: Memphis Beat

The Judging TNT's new cop drama Memphis Beat is less a critical question than a philosophical one. In brief, the series, starring Jason Lee, is mostly a standard-issue summertime basic cable cop procedural, somewhat distinguished by less frantic pacing, a touch more attention to character beats, and a smidgen of local color. So the question is: do you give the show credit for slightly changing up the formula it works with, or do you mark it down for doing far less with the setting and cast than it could have?

You can probably guess from how I phrased that where I come down. I don't believe in grading TV on a curve, because I don't watch TV on a curve. So while I like how Lee's laid-back style translates to a police drama, there's not enough here to separate the show from the umpteen other slightly-quirky-guy-solves-crimes cable dramas.

The first sign of trouble: Elvis. I'm not saying this to slight the King, but when you set a show in Memphis and rely for most of your early cultural and musical references on the one artist that 99% of your audience will think of when thinking of your city—here, Elvis songs, Elvis covers, Elvis impersonators—it's not a good sign of your show's imagination. Unlike regional dramas Treme, or Justified, or Friday Night Lights, this is not a show that's trying to get inside its city and make us see it with new eyes; it's just committed to delivering What We Think About When We Think About Memphis.

Here, we're introduced to Memphis detective Dwight (Lee) onstage in a bar, performing, of course, an Elvis cover. As we follow him to work, we find that he's got the same encumbrances as most TV cops, especially a tough new boss (Alfre Woodard) who, of course, is making the old boys in the department uncomfortable by implementing a new set of rules. The first case he picks up ties into Memphis' music heritage by involving an elderly woman who was an early figure in the local music scene, allowing for a further connection to the city's culture. Of course, that means more Elvis references. (The title of the episode? "That's Alright, Mama.")

One possible problem is that the show was largely shot not in Memphis but outside New Orleans, giving the locations a more generic Southernness rather than the documentary-like feel of a show like Treme. And it's a shame, because one thing Memphis Beat does have is a good cast, including, in a supporting cop role, DJ Qualls—whose appearance, however, only recalls the much more vital and distinctive Memphis of the movie "Hustle and Flow."

It's too bad. Memphis Beat had at its disposal the rich culture of a city that hasn't been portrayed to death on TV. But this show needs to find its soul.