On June 15, in a majestic display of compassionate conservatism, George Bush used his executive authority to create the world’s largest marine wildlife sanctuary by declaring a chain of ten islands and their surrounding waters a national monument.  Roughly the same size as the State of California, the new reserve covers 140,000 square miles of ocean, including  an archipelago that stretches 1,400 miles north-west of the main Hawaiian Islands. The archipelago includes roughly 4,500 square miles of coral reef and is inhabited by about 7,000 species.  By declaring it a national monument, the entire area will be protected from fishing and oil drilling.

According to The Economist the marine sanctuary would normally have been created under the National Marine Sanctuaries Act of 1972.  Conservationists were having trouble creating the reserve under the NMSA, so G-Dub stepped up and knocked the ball out of the park for them.  Somebody, give the man a cookie . . . he earned it.

You can check out some video footage of the sanctuary at National Geographic’s site.  I’ll bet there are some nice waves out there.  Anyone know if it’s against the law to surf a national monument?