A forbidden experiment, two moonshots and the fight for the Great Lakes’ future | CNN

EDITOR’S NOTE: Call to Earth is a CNN editorial series committed to reporting on the environmental challenges facing our planet, together with the solutions. Rolex’s Perpetual Planet Initiative has partnered with CNN to drive awareness and education around key sustainability issues and to inspire positive action. Politicians recently received an old enemy at the Capitol. Half a dozen guests arrived fresh from their journey from the Great Lakes. They flashed their teeth for the cameras and posed alongside policymakers from Florida to California. There were no handshakes, but one did suck on the palm of Representative Bill Huizenga. “It definitely gets your attention,” said the House member from Michigan. In a Congress riven by divides as deep and chilly as the Great Lakes themselves, both sides of the aisle agree: invasive sea lampreys must go. “I’ve been in politics in one element or another for my entire life,” said Greg McClinchey, director of policy and legislative affairs at the Great Lakes Fishery Commission (GLFC). “I have never had an issue that unifies like this.” The June meet and greet was the latest organized by the GLFC to remind policymakers that thi

Jul 15, 2026 → Aug 1, 2026