LA Times: Obama Is Lukewarm on Conservation

[amborin]

Obama Lukewarm on Conversation


It's probably going too far to say that former president and onetime oilman George W. Bush was a better conservationist than President Obama.
But they're not as far apart as most people think.

snip

What has Obama done? After former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, a hero to many conservationists because of his strong tenure during the Clinton administration, criticized Obama's record in a speech before the National Press Club this week, Interior Department spokeswoman Kendra Barkoff responded that Obama had protected more than 2 million acres of wilderness and miles of scenic rivers. If Obama is going to take credit for this, he might as well take credit for the financial meltdown, because both happened before his time. In the waning days of the Bush administration, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid pushed through a two-year omnibus bill that represented the biggest expansion of wilderness protection in a quarter of a century; because Bush was gone by the time it was approved by the then-Democrat-majority House, Obama had the privilege of signing it. But he had little or no influence over its passage.

Meanwhile, as an aggressive new majority of Republicans in the House takes steps to undo years of progress on conservation, Obama's response has been silent acquiescence. The budget bill passed by Congress and signed by Obama in April contained appalling riders inserted by House Republicans, stripping protection from wolves in five Western states — the first time Congress has ever removed a species from the endangered list — and undoing an initiative from Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to identify and inventory public lands eligible for designation as "wilderness," providing them a higher level of protection. Obama could have sent a strong signal about such riders by vetoing the bill, or threatening to veto it if the riders were included. He did neither.

Yes, we understand the political pressures the president is under — "It's the economy, stupid." Obama wants to be reelected in 2012, and he's trying to avoid battles over environmental protections that some perceive as harmful to economic growth. But we agree with Babbitt, who pointed out in his speech that American voters support conservation, making it a political winner, not a loser. They'll back a president who stands up for preserving public lands for the public.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-babbitt-20110611,0,423148.story

[ProSense]

1. "But to his credit, Bush..."

From the OP: "But to his credit, Bush set aside more ocean for federal protection than any president in history, creating three national monuments in far-flung Pacific islands and atolls and a separate 140,000-square-mile monument from Kauai to Midway."

Irony, the LAT hyping Bush as an environmental President.

NYT

<...>

Obama administration officials responded with a spirited defense of their environmental record, saying that among the president’s first actions was to designate more than two million acres of new wilderness and protecting more than 1,100 miles of wild and scenic rivers.

“The Obama administration is already building a strong conservation legacy, founded on sensible protections for wilderness lands, wildlife habitat and farms and ranches that are under threat,” the Interior Department said in a six-page document detailing its conservation record. “Secretary Salazar believes that now is the time to build on this early success, find common ground on challenges we face and continue our efforts to leave our land, water and wildlife better than we found it.”

The agency said it had authorized three new national park units, created one new national monument and designated four new national conservation areas and two new national recreation areas.

It also pointed to the creation of the million-acre Flint Hills Legacy Conservation Area in eastern Kansas.

An Interior official said that the Obama administration was ahead of where the Clinton administration was at the same point in its first term. The official also said that the Bush administration’s most significant conservation action – the designation of nearly 200,000 square miles of marine reefs and waters in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands – came in the last month of his second term.

CNN, February 2011: Obama details conservation action plan

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama called Wednesday for a series of steps to help Americans conserve and get in touch with nature, including full funding of the $900 million Land and Water Conservation Fund for only the third time in its existence.

At a White House event, Obama also proposed creating a Conservation Service Corps to help young people find work in the outdoors, and extending the tax deduction for donating private land for conservation.

<...>

The action plan calls for creating more urban parks, restoring rivers and creating recreational "blueways" -- river trails designed to generate economic activity, and increasing support for protecting rural landscapes.

<...>

The Conservation Service Corps would be roughly modeled on the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930s to help young Americans find work involving nature and conservation.

<...>

America’s Great Outdoors (AGO) Initiative

[amborin]

2. "disallusioned environmentalists consider Obama a Compromiser"

as early as 2009, and continuing

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/11/us/politics/11protest.html

[ProSense]

3. What the hell

does that article have to do with the OP and hying Bush?

From your link:

<...>

While most environmental groups formally supported the House bill, the road to passage proved unsettling for the movement. Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and Public Citizen opposed the bill; members of some other groups privately berated their leaders for going along with it. And some, like Ms. Miller, have shifted to open protest.

<...>

In a statement, Representative Henry A. Waxman, Democrat of California and an architect of the bill, defended the legislation. “We worked hard to craft legislation that would achieve our environmental goals while addressing the regional concerns of members of Congress,” he said. Politicians are not the only targets of dejected environmentalists.

<...>

Pretty sure the MSM were happy to do their part in ensuring that a climate change bill failed. Well, it passed the House, they killed Kerry-Boxer, and ended up with nothing.

Obama supported both.

[amborin]

4. the OP is not hyping Bush; it's decrying his record and pointing out that Obama's is not dissimilar

on conservation

[NCarolinawoman]

5. I am really glad that Bruce Babbitt spoke out on this.

He was a true Conservationist. Passionate about preserving ecosystems and endangered species. I was so happy when Clinton appointed him as Interior Secretary.

When I read that the hunting of wolves had been used as a bargaining chip in placating the Republicans, I wondered what Bruce Babbitt must be thinking. It was under his instigation that wolves were re-introduced into Yellowstone. He gave a very poignant speech on the day of their release into the Park.

What a shame it has all come down to this. All for nothing. :mad: