Bluegill Fish Fights Terrorism and Keeps Water Supplies Safe

Do you ever think that Our Government isn't doing enough to keep us safe? Oh really, you do? Well, you're not alone. Millions of Americans pretty much assume that our governing body doesn't give two shits about us: the general public. However, every once in a while a story comes along that leads me to believe that they DO care about us…even if it sounds completely crazy at first glance. Finally, there are people in charge who are "thinking outside the box." Creativity might be the only way to truly defeat the terrorists.

Check this story out…

"A type of fish so common that practically every American kid who ever dropped a fishing line and a bobber into a pond has probably caught one is being enlisted in the fight against terrorism. San Francisco, New York, Washington and other big cities are using bluegills - also known as sunfish or bream - as a sort of canary in a coal mine to safeguard their drinking water. Small numbers of the fish are kept in tanks constantly replenished with water from the municipal supply, and sensors in each tank work around the clock to register changes in the breathing, heartbeat and swimming patterns of the bluegills that occur in the presence of toxins.

"Nature's given us pretty much the most powerful and reliable early warning center out there," said Bill Lawler, co-founder of Intelligent Automation Corporation, a Southern California company that makes and sells the bluegill monitoring system. "There's no known manmade sensor that can do the same job as the bluegill."" -CNN.com

How cool is this story? I realize I can come off as a pretty negative person around here, but stuff like this is sure to knock a few cynic shingles off the old brain-roof. I used to catch these fish as a kid; we called them sunny's. Who knew that one day they'd be a major weapon in the war on terror? Imagine how different our lives would be if we just spent money making improvements like this and not on wars and the ultra expensive weapons that come with militarism gone wild.