Bush Looking to keep his Green record intact, start a Blue one
Bush, famous for undermining environmental protections, is looking to keep his environmentally-unfriendly reputation strong by hacking away at the Endangered Species act among other things before leaving office. Along with eliminating protection for polar bears (even though they are threatened), Bush is pushing through legislation that no means major projects will no longer need to undergo environmental review unless they are likely to threaten an endangered species. Sounds ok, but the decision on which those are will be made by the agency pushing the project: an agency which will have a vested interest. Obama has said he will work to undo the legislation, but it will be a lengthy process (and one of few things I agree with him on).
At the same time, Bush is looking to "blue" his legacy by creating a massive 700,000 square mile preserve in the Pacific.
Most of this will be along the Mariana trench, an area of diverse wildlife which has yet to be hit hard by fishing due to its isolation. We own the islands post-WWII, and the preserve would be created by extending preservation boundaries out from the current 3 miles from the shore of each island to up to 100 miles.
In this case, the locals are generally against the measure, afraid that it will damage their economy. On the cost/benefit side I would have to say that i dont much care whether the economy of the Mariana islands is damaged, and I think it is probably short-sighted, as was Utahns opposition to Moab becoming a national monument (which has turned into an economic boom due to tourism and adventuring).
Interesting dichotomy that Bush seems to be completely anti-environment on land, but wants to create the offshore preserve. My belief is that he is so fixated on "reducing US dependence on foreign oil" that he would do anything to get there.
At the same time, Bush is looking to "blue" his legacy by creating a massive 700,000 square mile preserve in the Pacific.
Most of this will be along the Mariana trench, an area of diverse wildlife which has yet to be hit hard by fishing due to its isolation. We own the islands post-WWII, and the preserve would be created by extending preservation boundaries out from the current 3 miles from the shore of each island to up to 100 miles.
In this case, the locals are generally against the measure, afraid that it will damage their economy. On the cost/benefit side I would have to say that i dont much care whether the economy of the Mariana islands is damaged, and I think it is probably short-sighted, as was Utahns opposition to Moab becoming a national monument (which has turned into an economic boom due to tourism and adventuring).
Interesting dichotomy that Bush seems to be completely anti-environment on land, but wants to create the offshore preserve. My belief is that he is so fixated on "reducing US dependence on foreign oil" that he would do anything to get there.
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