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| this mornings double take |
tomder55 |
06/16/06 |
The NY Slimes wrote an extremely rare editorial praising an initiative by President Bush today .
Mr. Bush has made the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands a national monument, putting them under some of the strictest environmental protections the law provides. It was an act of wilderness preservation that, acre for acre, instantly put him into the same league as the conservation-minded presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton.
Must make the President proud to be favorably compared to Jimmy C . and Bubba .
Mr. Bush created the sanctuary by (unilateral action)fiat, but his decision reflects a long-held consensus that the islands need protecting.
But ; the Slimes actually understated what the President did. This proclamation created the largest protected area in the world (14-hundred-mile-long area ).The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are larger than the Great Barrier Reef and larger than all of the US national parks put together and makes it the largest no-take marine conservation area in the world.
"It's the single-largest act of ocean conservation in history. It's a large milestone. "It is a place to maintain biodiversity and to maintain basically the nurseries of the Pacific. It spawns a lot of the life that permeates the middle of the Pacific Ocean."
[Conrad C. Lautenbacher, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]
The protected area goes as far as Midway Island on it's northern tip.
In the Northwest Hawaiian Islands, we're also preserving an historic landmark of great importance. Near the northern edge of these islands lies Midway Island, the site of one of the most decisive battles of World War II. On this atoll, there's a memorial to the sacrifice and valor of those who fought in the Pacific theater during World War II. This national monument will have special access area around Midway Island . That's what we want. We want people to go and pay homage to those who sacrifice for our freedom. .
Jean-Michel Cousteau filmed a documentary of the area recently and it was viewed at the White House .It presumably had a big impact on the President .
This is the 2nd time the President has utilized the National Antiquities Act .Bush critics are quick to point out that Bubba abused the act in blatant land grabs by the government used the act to create a slew of 'National Monuments' in over 20 States . The only other time Bush used it was to preserve an African American burial site in Manhattan .
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