Bush leaves legacy of ocean protection

[Barrett808]

Source: McClatchy Newspapers

Bush leaves legacy of ocean protection
By Renee Schoof, McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — President George W. Bush on Tuesday will create three new marine monuments in the Pacific Ocean to protect the deepest place on Earth, some of the last pristine corals and sanctuaries for vanishing marine species.

The three monuments — in the Mariana Islands in the western Pacific, the Rose Atoll off American Samoa and remote islands in the central Pacific — cover 195,280 square miles, the largest protected area of ocean.

Conservationists and the White House declared a new era for protection of unique and endangered places in the ocean, opportunities of scientific discovery and an important effort to protect some of the last places where the ocean still looks like the abundant world of centuries or even thousands of years past.

The Marianas Marine National Monument will protect the Mariana Trench, the deepest place on Earth — deeper than Mount Everest is high and explored for the first time only in 1960. The three monuments also protect corals and the ecosystems that include large migratory, resting and feeding sea birds, and endangered animals such as sea turtles.

"To me and the president and first lady, one of the things that really affected us in learning from the scientists is these locations are truly among the last pristine areas in marine environments on Earth," White House Council on Environmental Quality chairman James Connaughton told reporters Monday. "This is a huge day for marine conservation."

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20090106/sc_mcclatchy...

[Veritas_et_Aequitas]

1. I'm sure there's a loophole in there that allows for private exploitation

of resources should they be found.

[lostnotforgotten]

2. A mAn That Relates To Fish More Than People - Why Should No One Be Surprised

eom

[nuxvomica]

6. "I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully."

Remeber that quote? Perhaps that was his core dream. Perhaps he did everything else in exchange for this.

[cap]

31. yup, fish can swim around the rigs in murky, oily waters

eom

[hlthe2b]

3. give me a break....

[Xipe Totec]

4. If you make a deal with a Deveel and you think you're ahead,

count your fingers and toes.

If they're all there, start looking for missing relatives....

- Another Fine Myth.

[santamargarita]

5. He should go there and check it out

I'll loan him my snorkel.

[ellenfl]

7. roflmao. eom

[Arctic Dave]

8. Wouldn't this be in international waters?

[rpannier]

9. No

DUH-bya has declared the area to be rife with terrorist fish, so he's claiming the region as part of the US for World Security reasons

[Arctic Dave]

22. Terrorist fish you say. I thought something suspicious was going on in my aquarium.

[petronius]

10. Good for him. He's light-years away from being an 'environmental president', but

he's made some good moves on marine protection. If I was forced to say something good about the guy, it would be in this area...

[whoneedstickets]

12. Since, obviously, he doesn't think for himself, I wonder who...

...is pushing this to him in the WH? Who manage to dodge Cheney and advocate ANY (let alone meaningful) conservation measures?

[Barrett808]

15. Laura Bush seemed to be taking a personal interest in this a few weeks ago...

...I think she's trying to polish his legacy.

[NashVegas]

23. I Noticed That

Pickles is getting feisty on her way out the door.

[hatrack]

11. Shame about that little ocean acidification thing . . . too bad these areas will all be dead by 2050

But hey, as long as the Chimp gets to burnish the little vestigial semi-evolved lungfish of an environmental "legacy" that just crawled out onto the sand last week, have it it, Cowboy!

Like anybody, ANYBODY in that whore's nest gives a single Goddamn about any living thing other than themselves and any non-sentient thing other than their FUCKING BANK ACCOUNTS.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

13. yet "oceans no longer protect us"

so cosmic, isn't it?

[booley]

14. As much as I want to beleive this

every time it seemed that Shrub might do the right thing, I end up disappointed once I learn the details.

And this line just grates on my nerves..."one of the things that really affected us in learning from the scientists"?!

This is the same administration that spent 8 years undermining and perverting science. Including and especially when it comes to the environment.

Somehow I find it unlikely that Shrub has developed a soul now .

[Robbien]

16. Bush designates ocean conservation areas in final weeks as president

Source: The Guardian

Move to protect three regions of pristine marine habitat in the Pacific Ocean are in sharp contrast to Bush administration's record on other green issues

George Bush will designate nearly 200,000 square miles of the Pacific Ocean as conservation areas on Tuesday, recasting his record on the environment just two weeks before leaving the White House.

. . .

They include pristine coral reefs, vanishing marine species and the deepest place on Earth.

Their preservation brought rare praise from environmentalists who have spent much of the last eight years fighting Bush on climate change, air pollution, and wildlife management.

. . .

But the marine reserves were as much a gift from Laura Bush, who was credited with heading off determined opposition from the vice-president, Dick Cheney, as well as business leaders in the Mariana Islands who had lobbied on behalf of fishing and energy exploration.

White House officials, in a conference call with reporters, described three distinct areas: the Mariana Islands in the western Pacific, a chain of remote islands in the central Pacific, and the Rose Atoll off American Samoa.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jan/06/ocean...

[opihimoimoi]

17. Trying to LOOK GOOD in final days??? Why the Fuck NOW??

Bush is such an ass,,,,,fuck him

[karynnj]

18. I hate to say it - but manyof Clinton environmental executive orders

were similarly at the end of his term.

[opihimoimoi]

25. But NOT like this DUDE...the Bush dude has an agenda..look good at any cost..incl LYING his ass off

[karynnj]

26. So, there wasn't an agenda in 2000/2001 to make the Clinton legacy better?

This is a pretty normal thing.

[opihimoimoi]

27. Not that I recall....Why are we talking about Bill? I was voicing shit about Dufus

I love bashing Bush because deserves it

Bill did some crazy BJs and thats his biz....but Dufus....he ruined it for too many Americans...

[karynnj]

28. Because it is very customary to issue last minute self serving

actions in the last month - where you do have to deal with the implementation or any difficulties. (I don't know what people before Clinton did.)

[opihimoimoi]

29. But Clinton had wonderful approval ratings at the time of his departure

unlike Dufuses dismal 17%....Poor Bush....hardly anyone likes him these dayz....

[Robbien]

19. He didn't want Cheney mad at him until he was on the way out the door

Cheney is/was the driving force behind the hate the environment campaign of the Bush Admin.

[opihimoimoi]

20. The Rules Syndrome...."We can do it...the rules allow this shit..."

WTF have we done to ourselves?

[Posteritatis]

21. I'm curiously unoffended by this (nt)

[Runcible Spoon]

24. what? No oil under there?

shameless PR. Nice try asshole!

[underpants]

30. But Barrett Fox News says "Mixed Reviews"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...