Obama's 'historic' conservation legacy beats Teddy Roosevelt

[babylonsister]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38311093

Obama's 'historic' conservation legacy beats Teddy Roosevelt
By Charlie Northcott BBC News, Washington

4 January 2017
From the section US & Canada



Elephants, sharks, and toads have one thing in common. All of them have benefited, in some way, from the presidency of Barack Obama.

One of the lesser known legacies of the US president is his record as a conservationist.

During his eight years in office, he has placed 548 million acres of habitat under protection. This spans Arctic tundra, mountain woodland, and coral reefs with as much biodiversity as rainforests. The outgoing president created the two largest marine reserves on earth and the world's second largest desert reserve.

Collectively, this array of land and sea encompass an area nine times the size of the United Kingdom.

Mr Obama has protected more natural habitat than any president in American history, exceeding the 290 million acres by the founder of US National Parks, President Theodore Roosevelt.

In all, Mr Obama has added 22 new parks to the US National Park system, far exceeding the six created by his predecessor, George W Bush.

snip//

Whether these designations will last under a Donald Trump presidency remains uncertain.

The president-elect's choice for head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, has called for the Endangered Species Act to be repealed.

"We are bracing ourselves for a hostile administration," says Jamie Clark, the chief executive of Defenders of Wildlife, a non-profit organisation.



But for now, at least, Mr Obama's conservation record is among the notable legacies of his presidency.

"It's comprehensive, it's marine, it's terrestrial, it's historic, it's high impact," says Jon Jarvis, the director of the US National Park Service.

"He has set a high bar for the world."

[Cha]

1. Thank you, President Obama.. he has set a high bar.

[underpants]

2. Pic caption: President Obama is out standing in his field

Seriously- thanks for the article.

[SammyWinstonJack]

3. Just wait, tRump out of spite first, will undo it all. Drill, baby drill!

Big League Asshole!

[babylonsister]

5. I fear very much you are right. nt

[DFW]

4. Conservation and caution

Obama fits the definition of "conservative (small c)" far better than the right wing radicals who have hijacked the word. Its definition in Republicanese is completely different from what it means in English.