A public examination and discussion of the the threat of Asian carp to Chicago and the Great Lakes. The spread of Asian carp toward the Great Lakes continues to cause great controversy. Electric barriers and poisons have been used to halt their spread, but the species still seem to be advancing up the Illinois River, through Chicago waterways, and into Lake Michigan. Some biologists and environmentalists maintain that Asian carp would cause an ecological disaster in the Great Lakes, and a case is pending in the Supreme Court to force the closure of Chicago area navigation locks to slow their spread. Despite these claims and court actions, there remains significant uncertainty about how severely Asian carp would impact the Great Lakes, and how effectively different management strategies would slow their spread.

The Program on the Global Environment at the University of Chicago, in partnership with the Chicago Council on Science and Technology, presents a public examination and discussion of the threat of Asian carp to Chicago and the Great Lakes. Experts in biology, economics and policy (see details below) will provide the most up to date information about how these species threaten the ecology of the Great Lakes, how closing Chicago waterways would affect the regional economy, and the broader implications for the Great Lakes region and environmental management.

Part of the World Beyond the Headlines lecture series. The University of Chicago Center for International Studies and Program on the Global Environment, and the Chicago Council on Science and Technology.

(c) Unversity of Chicago. The World Beyond the Headlines series is a collaborative project of the Center for International Studies, the International House Global Voices Program, the Seminary Co-op Bookstores and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Its aim is to bring scholars and journalists together to consider major international issues and how they are covered in the media.

Recorded Tuesday, April 06, 2010 at Shedd Aquarium Auditorium.