50 years of unintended consequences

June 30, 5:09 PMDetroit National Politics ExaminerDave Hornstein

But no such boom occurred, ocean going traffic never came close to predictions, and invasive species carried in the ballast water of ocean going ships have created an environmental disaster.  If we want to see a graphic illustration of the law of unintended consequences, this is it.

The idea behind the $1 billion Seaway project, which connects the Atlantic Ocean to Lake Erie through a series of canals and locks, was that opening the Midwest to the global economy would spark a big boost in international trade, with projections of 50 million tons of cargo a year passing through the Seaway.  But traffic peaked at 23 million in 1978 and has since declined to less than 10 million a year.  In the meantime, ocean going freighters have gotten considerably larger, with most now too big for the Seaway’s locks.

At the same time, the Seaway’s promoters never considered the problem of invasive species.  Ocean going vessels encounter a wide variety of creatures not found in the Great Lakes, which often wind up in their ballast tanks.  A 1981 Canadian study found 200 such species, but nothing was done about it until 2006, when Canada finally required ocean going ships to flush their ballast tanks with seawater to kill the invaders. The U.S. followed suit in 2008.

There are now 57 invasive species in the Great Lakes, including zebra and quagga mussels, along with the spiny water flea, bloody red mysid, round goby and Eurasian ruffe.  They have devastated native fish and bird populations, created toxic algae blooms and dead zones, spread diseases, changed the food chain, and clogged water intake pipes.

It has been estimated that the Seaway saves $55 million a year in transportation costs, while damage from invasive species checks in a $200 million a year, with a total price tag perhaps as high as $5.7 billion.  With costs outweighing benefits, it appears to have been a bad idea to fool with Mother Nature.