Good News

[fragNplug]

Unsure if this is appropriate to post here about this but reading online news today i found something i think may interest everyone.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...010600211.html

President Bush will create three new marine national monuments in the Pacific Ocean today

The monuments, which together are equal in size to Spain, include regions teeming with sharks and other top marine predators, along with vibrant coral and hydrothermal vents.

[JDigital]

I didn't think Bush was the president anymore...

[Whatigot]

Jan 25th is his last day I believe.

[awa1979]

Originally Posted by JDigital

I didn't think Bush was the president anymore...

He is the president until January 20th until approx 12 Noon with the new president will be sworn in and at that time all the powers and privileges will be transferred to Obama.


Bush may not have the best environmental record, but when it comes to protecting the ocean he has done a decent job with creating marine reserves, he did so in Hawaii as well a few years back with the creation of

[OCDP]

Originally Posted by awa1979

He is the president until January 20th until approx 12 Noon with the new president will be sworn in and at that time all the powers and privileges will be transferred to Obama.


Bush may not have the best environmental record, but when it comes to protecting the ocean he has done a decent job with creating marine reserves, he did so in Hawaii as well a few years back with the creation of

Please continue...

[justinl]

say what you will about the guy but in the end, as of two days ago, this one act makes him the most beneficial president in history for marine conservation. this act really is a milestone. Personally I think he did it to save face more than anything else after his myriad screw ups, but that doesn't take away from the fact that these are the largest marine reserves in history.

[awa1979]

President Bush on Thursday created the world's largest marine protected area — a group of remote Hawaiian islands that cover 84 million acres and are home to 7,000 species of birds, fish and marine mammals, at least a quarter of which are unique to Hawaii.

The national monument, about the size of California, is larger even than Australia’s Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13300363/

The above is from 2006.

President Bush today will create three national monuments in the Pacific Ocean, protecting 195,000 square miles around the Northern Mariana Islands, as reported today in the Los Angeles Times and elsewhere. The monuments: Rose Atoll, the Mariana Trench and the Pacific Remote Islands.

Add this to the 145,000 square miles surrounding the Northwest Hawaiian Islands, which was protected in 2006, and you have by far the largest area set aside for protection by any political leader in the world.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/outp...lash-pres.html


Bush has now protected more ocean habitat (333,000 square miles) than any of his predecessors.

http://www.startribune.com/opinion/c...D3aPc:_Yyc:aUU



The above is the most recent.


I don't like the guy, but he has taking a liking to the oceans it seems, he even went against the wishes of Dick Cheney with the most recent protections.

[fragNplug]

all in all, bad president or not, anything that anyone does to save the eco system is good in my view.

[Slick Fork]

You know and I almost hate to say it but I sometimes feel a bit sorry for the guy. All you ever hear about are his mistakes and don't get me wrong, he's made some big ones, but the Iraq war didn't really become unpopular in the US until it became apparent that this wasn't one of those conflicts that they could go in, do their job and come home without losing anybody

Anyways, not wanting to jump into that debate... but President Bush has done more for the oceans then any other world leader in History, which really does contradict with his thoughts on offshore oil drilling. He's also spent more on combatting A.I.D.S. in Africa then any other president, his "no child left behind" programs have had a tremendous effect on literacy, particularly in poorer regions of the southern U.S. He's done some really good things with his time.

It will be interesting to see how history judges him 20 years down the road.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Originally Posted by Slick Fork

You know and I almost hate to say it but I sometimes feel a bit sorry for the guy. All you ever hear about are his mistakes and don't get me wrong, he's made some big ones, but the Iraq war didn't really become unpopular in the US until it became apparent that this wasn't one of those conflicts that they could go in, do their job and come home without losing anybody

Anyways, not wanting to jump into that debate... but President Bush has done more for the oceans then any other world leader in History, which really does contradict with his thoughts on offshore oil drilling. He's also spent more on combatting A.I.D.S. in Africa then any other president, his "no child left behind" programs have had a tremendous effect on literacy, particularly in poorer regions of the southern U.S. He's done some really good things with his time.

It will be interesting to see how history judges him 20 years down the road.

I agree, most people have no idea of some of the good he has done because its so easy to focus on the bad. Now he has not been a very good president for the US or the world for that matter and I am certainly not defending him but as you said, he has done some pretty amazing things.

This one is huge. Its been something like 140 years since the first National Park (Yellowstone) in the US and never has any marine location been given the same respect and protection. Now he has not only created the first Marine National parks but they are huge at that...they restrict fishing, drilling, ect. and happen to protect many large shark populations.

Its easy to say he has done this to save face but its not just that...little know fact about Bush is that he quite the "ocean lover" and always has been. Apparently he has always had a great fascination and love for the ocean and its creatures. But again, we usually just hear about his apparent love for war