The Asian longhorned beetle, native to China, is a serious threat to hardwood trees in the U.S. So far, populations of the beetle have been confined to Chicago and New York. Foresters are concerned that more non-native species will be introduced through expanded global trade. Photo courtesy of USDA-APHIS.
Forests in the Midwest may be under siege from exotic species more often in the future… partly because of international trade. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Rebecca Williams explains:
Transcript
Forests in the Midwest may be under siege from exotic species more often in the future… partly because of international trade. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Rebecca Williams reports:
The Asian longhorned beetle is native to China.
The beetle caught a ride to the U.S. in the wooden packing material of
imported goods. So far, the beetle has been found in New York and
Chicago.
Once a tree is infested with beetles, the best way to stop the beetles from spreading is to destroy the tree.
A National Academy of Sciences study predicts that threats to native species will increase as trade opens up between the U.S. and China. The authors say that China may become a new “donor region” for species that could become invasive.
Entomologist Deborah McCullough is an author of the study.
“You can kind of visualize this whole complex of insects and weeds and plant pathogens in Asia that haven’t had a pathway, they haven’t had a route to be brought to the country yet… and we really don’t know what all could end up coming in.”
Dr. McCullough says because China’s range of climates and plant life are similar to that of the U.S., many species that make it over here have a chance to become established.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Rebecca Williams.
Since September 11th, the U.S. government has been closing security gaps in aviation. But maritime officials warn that security on our Great Lakes is even less certain. Recently the U.S. Coast Guard held an international conference in Cleveland on Great Lakes security. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Schaefer reports:
Transcript
Since September 11, the U.S. government has been closing security gaps in aviation. But maritime officials warn that security on our Great Lakes is even less certain. Recently the U.S. Coast Guard held an international conference in Cleveland on Great Lakes security. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Schaefer reports:
On September 11, about 55 commercial U.S. and foreign freighters were cruising the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway. Even as the nation’s airports were being closed, U.S. Coast Guard officials were ordered to stop and search those vessels. It took two days for the search to be completed. Commander James Hull heads the Coast Guard’s 9th District, which oversees shipping in the Great Lakes region. He says that action alerted the Guard to a serious problem.
“Didn’t know exactly where all those ships were. AIS system solves that.”
AIS is a new communications protocol now being developed by the International Maritime Organization. Using a global positioning system, ships equipped with AIS will be able to transmit their exact location – and identity – to other vessels and maritime authorities. But so far, the system hasn’t been widely adopted. And that’s just the first security risk the Coast Guard discovered.
“We had people asking how you drive the ships and how you get training?”
As the weeks went by, the list of vulnerable areas grew. Nuclear power plants located along the lakeshore, ports and harbors, bridges, tunnels, and locks. Ships carrying hazardous cargo and those from countries with known terrorist links. And then there are the thousands of cargo containers shipped daily from ports around the world.
“Ambi here?”
27-hundred reservists were called up to assist the Coast Guard in patrolling and monitoring sensitive areas. The federal government allocated more than 220-million dollars in additional funds. But four months after the terrorist attacks, more than 50-percent of the Coast Guard’s efforts are still being spent on security. The Guard’s original mission – to guide maritime operations, assist in search and rescue, and help clean up environmental problems – has been largely overshadowed. Nonetheless oversight of commercial shipping is part of the Coast Guard’s job. Goods shipped on the Great Lakes are worth more than 742-billion dollars a year to the U.S. economy. Most of those goods and raw materials enter or leave the Great Lakes in bulk shipments and in containers that are off-loaded directly from ships. Dr. Steven Flynn is a former Coast Guard Commander and a Senior Fellow with the National Security Studies Program at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City. He says a disruption to Great Lakes shipping could have wide-reaching consequences for the entire U.S.
“And so if we have another incident…we’re still extremely vulnerable, we’re still not out of the woods on this here – that if it happens in those sectors, my fear is not just the consequence of seeing another sight like I saw on September 16 after the attack, but also is the disruption that would come from happening within those sectors.”
Those disruptions could also severely hamper the Canadian economy, which ships much of its grain and steel through the Great Lakes. As the U.S.’s largest trading partner and nearest neighbor, Canada already shares jurisdiction over Great Lakes resources through the International Joint Commission. Now government officials on both sides of the border say it’s more important than ever to work together.
(1B 258 Streeter Integrated border enforcement)
John Adams is the Canadian Coast Guard Commissioner. He says the U.S. and Canada have recently signed a 30-point plan to jointly improve security on the Great Lakes, while allowing trade to flourish. Both governments have already instituted new 96-hour arrival notification requirements for vessels coming into North American ports. And they’ve extended the international maritime borders from 3-miles to twelve. But there are plenty of other new security plans yet to be adopted, ranging from identity cards and background checks to a point-of-origin system for clearing container cargo. And both countries will be sending representatives to the International Maritime Organization conference in London, where organizers hope to move ahead with new standardized strategies to keep global trade secure. For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Karen Schaefer.
Steel has once again become a big issue in U.S. trade policy. Many steel companies around the Midwest are worried about ‘steel dumping’ and are urging President Bush to support new tariffs and quotas on imported steel. But some steel users say the Bush Administration should back off. How the President handles the issue could affect both jobs and the environment in the region. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Chuck Quirmbach reports:
Transcript
Steel has once again become a big issue in United States trade policy. Many steel companies around the Midwest are worried about steel dumping and are urging President Bush to support new tariffs and quotas on imported steel. But some steel users say the Bush administration should back off. How the president handles the issue could affect both jobs and the environment in the Great Lakes region. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Chuck Quirmbach reports.
The amount of commonly used types of foreign steel coming into the United States has risen about a third over the last five years, and a federal trade panel ruled recently that much of that imported steel is being sold here at a price lower than what it cost to make it and ship it here. That’s a practice called dumping. The trade panel found that such dumping poses a serious threat to domestic steel makers. So the panel says President Bush should slap tariffs on many product lines of foreign-made steel to raise the prices of the imports. But that’s not such a hot idea to some other industries, which use plenty of foreign steel.
(furnace/factory ambient sound)
Here at the Engel Tool and Forge Company in Milwaukee…this second-generation family business now uses about 600 tons a year of steel imported from countries like Brazil and Sweden. In the warm and grimy forging area, workers use a robot to move five foot long steel bars that have been heated to 2100 degrees Fahrenheit. Owner chuck Engel watches the orange and white-hot bars enter a machine
“That’s a preforming press …a hydraulic press that preforms the metal. It’s removed from there and moved into a finished form that we gain our finished desired shape.” (WHAM noise)
The bars are scrunched into wheel axles that’ll be shipped to heavy equipment makers in the mining or construction industries. Engel says his company is doing all right during the recession. So he’s says he strongly opposed to the president possibly tinkering with that success by slapping higher tariffs on imported steel.
“I am sure there is a certain amount of unfairness on both sides of the fence but I believe that competition should be what sorts this problem out rather than the government.”
Engel contends domestic steel makers got quote- fat and sassy — over the last twenty years…and he says mergers, downsizing and other changes now taking place among domestic manufacturers will help them compete in the world steel market. Engel says if steel tariffs do go up…he’d have to pass along the price hikes. But other players are urging President Bush to approve higher steel tariffs. The United Steelworkers of America hopes the president even goes beyond what the trade panel recommends. Some environmentalists are also quietly supporting the domestic steel industry. That’s even though green groups have a track record of battling steel manufacturers. Cameron Davis of the Chicago-based lake Michigan federation acknowledges big steel has a dirty history in the area.
“Well traditionally, the steel industry especially in northwest Indiana has been responsible for a fair amount of pollution in the Great Lakes…and that’s air-based pollution, water based pollution, land based pollution across the board.”
But lately environmentalists have been trying to forge alliances with unions like the steelworkers. And Davis notes that environmental lawsuits and other changes have gotten domestic steel makers to start cleaning up their act in recent years. He says if nothing is done to slow the rise in steel imports that could make the United States environment worse. Davis cites the aquatic nuisance species that tag along in the ballast water of foreign ships…including presumably, the ships that bring in foreign steel.
“Without some help in protecting the GL steel industry, we’ll see more and more foreign steel coming into the country. And with that foreign steel probably more aquatic nuisance species that will do more damage not only to the Great Lakes but to rest of country.”
United States flagged Great Lakes shipping companies that haul iron ore from Minnesota and northern Michigan are also siding with the domestic steel makers. George Ryan is president of the Lake Carriers Association. He says if the domestic steel industry keeps getting hurt by foreign imports…there might be some local improvements like less air pollution emitted over Gary or Cleveland, but Ryan says, what about the rest of the globe.
“For anyone who has seen photographs from outer space, we have one world that moves the air around to all parts of the world we can’t really say we condone dirty air in Brazil and in China and okay to do it there cause we’re protecting our air in the United States.”
Ryan is a member of the Great Lakes Commission…which is urging the president and congress to boost steel exports and reduce unfair competition from abroad. Commissioners do the bidding of eight Great Lakes governors…most of whom are republicans like George W. Bush. If the president does not do more to protect United States steel makers and jobs that could be an issue in the gubernatorial and congressional elections next November. Mr. Bush has to announce his plans on steel tariffs and quotas by mid-February. For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium this is Chuck Quirmbach in Milwaukee.
Canadians are looking at new measures to ban the export of water. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham has more:
Transcript
Canadians are looking at new measures to ban the export of water. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports.
If it’s passed, legislation in Quebec would prevent the export of water from that province. In a report in the newspaper Le Journal de Quebec, the Environment Minister noted that the North American Free Trade Agreement already bans shipment of water by tank, but since the term “tank” is not defined in NAFTA, the Minister feels Quebec should define clear policy. Under the measure, Quebec would still allow the sale of water bottled in containers of less than 20 liters, about the size of a water cooler jug. It would not allow any large vessels or trucks to carry water away and would also ban piping the water out of the province. Canada has been especially sensitive to water issues since President George Bush suggested earlier this year Great Lakes water could be shipped to more arid parts of the U.S. For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Lester Graham.
These days, all kinds of businesses — from automakers to hotel chains — are going on-line to do their buying and selling. By meeting through electronic marketplaces, they hope to save time and cut costs. And as the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Wendy Nelson reports, even farmers are giving it a try:
The eyes of the world were recently focused on Seattle, Washington for
the World Trade Organization conference. Despite their efforts, tens of
thousands of protesters were unable to stop the
conference. As Great Lakes Radio Consortium commentator Suzanne
Elston observes, rather than fighting the globalization of trade
maybe its time we fully embraced the idea:
Late last month (October) Sun Belt Water of California filed a $10.5
billion suit against the Canadian government under the North American
Free Trade Agreement. The company claims that it has been mistreated
because the province of British Columbia banned the bulk exports of
water. As Great Lakes Radio Consortium commentator Suzanne Elston points
out, the outcome of the suit will probably cost us all a lot more than
money:
Environmentalists warned the North American Free Trade Agreement would
put corporate profits over environmental protection. And now…two
lawsuits filed by U.S. corporations against the Canadian government, are
proving them right. But, as Great Lakes Radio Consortium commentator
Suzanne Elston warns, NAFTA is just the beginning. There is another
much more sinister trade agreement looming on the horizon:
Its estimated that the U.S. honeybee industry generates about $8
million in annual revenue. But the industry has taken a serious
financial hit from a mite infestation. Honey bees are being killed and
honey production is down. You might think that would mean higher
prices for honey. But as the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester
Graham reports, the price of honey has actually gone down:
A series of pre-hearing meetings have begun over an Ontario waterbottling company’s efforts to export Lake Superior water to Asia. TheGreat Lakes Radio Consortium’s Mike Simonson reports that the appeal isfacing an uphill battle:
The Asian longhorned beetle, native to China, is a serious threat to hardwood trees in the U.S. So far, populations of the beetle have been confined to Chicago and New York. Foresters are concerned that more non-native species will be introduced through expanded global trade. Photo courtesy of USDA-APHIS.