Posted on behalf of Roberta Kwok

It may gall some environmentalists to admit it, but George W. Bush could go down in history as one of America’s greenest presidents. When it comes to the sea, that is.

The not-completely-lame-duck president anointed about 52 million hectares of U.S.-owned ocean as marine national monuments, which together will constitute the largest such preserve in the world (Seattle Post-Intelligencer blog). The protected pockets, extending 80 kilometres beyond the shores of various remote islands and atolls in the Pacific, will be shielded from oil drilling and commercial fishing (Washington Post). Creatures sheltered from harm include coral reef inhabitants, rare whale species and a bird that uses volcanic heat to warm its eggs.

If you’re still skeptical, take it from Joshua Reichert, managing director of the Pew Environmental Group, who told the New York Times: “George W. Bush has done more to protect unique areas of the world’s oceans than any other person in history.” That’s quite a plaudit for a president who has been attacked for refusing to curb greenhouse gas emissions and lifting bans on off-shore drilling.

Of course, not all environmental groups are so enthusiastic. Brendan Cummings, oceans programme director at the Center for Biological Diversity, tells the BBC that without measures to combat global warming, “any benefit coral reefs receive from this monument designation will be bleached away by warming seas.”

Image: NOAA