Two years ago, Bush made a sprawling portion of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands into a national monument. It became the largest conservation area in the world. The act subsequently banned fishing, oil and gas extraction, and tourism from the waters and coral reefs of the protected zone. Very soon, the US will demarcate “the largest area of protected sea in the world.” Commercial fishing and mining will be banned in these protected zones, covering the Marianas Trench or the deepest end of the earth’s ocean. The three marine areas will total 195,280 square miles.

On his last days in office, Bush wants to create an impact with environmental efforts. Critics are not impressed, saying that his ocean legacy will not be enough to erase his being a climate criminal. It will be remembered that Bush has refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol that will signify the US commitment to drastically cut its carbon dioxide emissions and veer away from a fossil fuel economy.

While creating marine sanctuaries that rely heavily on the health of coral reefs and coral reef zones as the center of their ecosystems will help the planet, it is still carbon dioxide emissions that raise the alkalinity of the ocean water, leading to coral bleaching. Coral reefs and their ecosystems die less from fishing and mineral exploration than in the effect of climate change on the planet due to CO2 emissions. Bush missed that point.

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Via msnbc