I wholeheartedly support President Bush…

Don’t worry.  I’ll wait for you to pick yourself up off the floor before continuing.

So how ’bout those Mavs?

It’s rather hot here, you know.  Gross.  Oppressive.  Hellish.  Welcome to Texas…

Oh, you’re back.  Good.  Now I can continue.

Yes, I wholeheartedly support President Bush’s initiative to create the world’s largest marine sanctuary around the Northwest Hawaiian Islands.  This is an historic undertaking, a critically imperative action, and the most ecologically sound decision the man has ever made.  Environmentalists like me should find tremendous satisfaction and joy in this announcement.

The world’s largest marine sanctuary could soon be created, encompassing 340,000 square kilometres of the Pacific Ocean around the Northwest Hawaiian Islands. President George W Bush has won rare praise from environmentalists for the proposal which he is expected to unveil today.

What makes that location so special?

The area is one of the most intact tropical marine ecosystems left on the planet, dominated by marine predators rather than human fishing. Over 7000 species living in the area are to be protected, including the endangered Hawaiian monk seal and threatened green sea turtles.

There’s a catch for commercial use, right?  Nope.

Bush’s plan calls for a ban on fishing for sport and commercial reasons, giving the eight fishing vessels who now work in the area five years to phase out their operations.

There are ample details left to clarify and finalize, of course, such as those relating to recreational and research use of the area, and those issues will be discussed and resolved “after a 60-day comment period.”

I stand amazed at this action.  Dubya is anything but environmentally conscious, so this move, if it happens, could be his greatest legacy for the planet and the only ecologically reasonable task he has pursued and completed.

Gosh, I almost messed my britches when I ran across this announcement.  Wow!  There may be hope for humanity yet, especially if someone like King George can actually commit to protecting what little is left of the natural world.

Of course, my praise for him depends greatly on whether or not this happens in reality as opposed to lip service.

[Update]: It’s done.  I am as surprised as I am pleased.  This area, “home to 7,000 species of birds, fish and marine mammals, at least a quarter of which are unique to Hawaii”, has been declared the 75th national monument.  To happily quote Bush in this regard: “To put this area in context, this national monument is more than 100 times larger than Yosemite National Park,” Bush said. “It’s larger than 46 of our 50 states, and more than seven times larger than all our national marine sanctuaries combined. This is a big deal.”