A Gift From the Midwest

Back in the early 90's, my buddies and I used to go fishing every spring or early summer in the Adirondacks. We were in pursuit of two of our favorite gamefish, the fearsome northern pike and the acrobatic smallmouth bass. Deep in the Adirondack Park, spots like Saranac, Long and Tupper Lakes provided both tremendous scenic beauty and the opportunity to tangle with some big, aggressive fish. Well, we enventually stopped going, the fish got shorter, the lakes weed beds and natural structures got a little less conducive to the health of our aquatic adversaries. The primary reason, acid rain, that incidious by-product of midwestern power production (coal fueled). Somebody turns on their air conditioner in Columbus and we get a bucket of nitrogen oxide and sulphur dioxide in upstate NY. A court case is making its way through the Federal Courts that would force power plants to improve air pollution controls when expanding. The case started, ironically enough, after the Bush administration took office and started weakening regulations....STORY