Over the holiday season, A'ndre caught up with his old friend John Schmidt to discuss John's work on governance issues around the Great Lakes, some of the largest bodies of freshwater in the world shared between the United States and Canada. John, who's a Program Manager with Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors & Premiers, provides his take on the national security implications that Great Lakes policy has, and how he coordinates among the many state governors and provincial premiers on water security issues. For example, A'ndre and John discuss a Department of Homeland Security report on the necessity of the Soo Locks, a piece of maritime infrastructure enabling vessel movement between the Great Lakes, and why DHS saw a potential domino-effect security threat if the Locks weren't bolstered and transportation subsequently shut down. A'ndre and John also chat about key issues in innovation on green and autonomous shipping, and the potential for threats from invasive species.