Where The Federal Gov't Can Do Good

I have occasionally written that I so wanted to be a libertarian in decades past, but that, every time I listened to one espouse his views on the role the government should have in our lives, I walked away scratching my head, trying to understand the difference between a libertarian and an anarchist (the non-bomb throwing kind).

Conservatives?   We believe in government.  Limited government.  The boundaries of which include a responsibility related to this:

Feds plan to spend $51.5M on 2012 Asian carp fight
By John Flesher, AP Environmental Writer

Traverse City, Mich. (AP) — The Obama administration will spend $51.5 million this year to shield the Great Lakes from greedy Asian carp, including first-time water sampling to determine whether the destructive fish have established a foothold in the lakes, officials said Thursday.

Officials released an updated strategy that also includes stepped-up trapping and netting in rivers that could provide access to the lakes, as well as initial field tests of scents that could lure carp to where they could be captured. An acoustic water gun that could scare carp from crucial locations will be tested near a Chicago shipping lock some want closed because it could serve as a doorway to Lake Michigan.

"This strategy builds on the unprecedented and effective plan we are implementing to keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes while we determine the best long-term solution," said John Goss, Asian carp program director for the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

With this year's money, the federal government will have spent $156.5 million over three years in the fight against bighead and silver carp, imported from Asia decades ago. They have migrated up the Mississippi River and its tributaries including the Illinois River, where they've advanced to within 55 miles of Lake Michigan.

The carp eat massive amounts of plankton — tiny plants and animals at the base of the aquatic food web. Scientists differ about how widely they would spread in the Great Lakes, but under worst-case scenarios they could severely damage the $7 billion fishing industry. [link]

A national concern requiring a national effort.

An effort that effective government action should be there to lead.

Until Nancy Pelosi takes charge again and millions of taxpayer dollars are diverted to Asian carp mambo dancing training and biodiversifying exercises.

Limited, effective government. It is possible. Not under present circumstances, but it is possible.