Bush spent one hour on the Chesapeake yesterday, fishing for rockfish (anyone on the Chesapeake knows we don't call them "stripers") and plastered the familiar stupid grin on his face and talked about his credentials as a conservationist. Who gets to fish is perhaps one issue though anyone who knows anything about the Chesapeake knows that fishing rights is far down on the list of what's important as far as the long term health of both the Bay is concerned. Pollution is much higher on the list and of much greater concern for the livelihood of the water that is a breeding ground for marine life though heavens, Bush could never criticize his power base.
The Bush administration also shows its true face with it's inability to protect the whale populations that are endangered due to shipping traffic and interference from lobster boats.
Sixteen months ago, a federal agency proposed slowing ships in certain East Coast waters to 10 knots or less during parts of the year to save the North Atlantic right whale, one of the world's most endangered marine mammals, from extinction.Just as they question whether global warming is for real, they question whether years of research related to protecting whales is accurate. Yes, a real conservationist, indeed.
Nine months later, officials at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said the situation was so dire that the loss of one more pregnant female might be the death knell for the species, whose surviving population numbers fewer than 400.
Today, however, the rule remains the subject of intense debate among senior White House officials, and the toll keeps rising: Since NOAA published the proposed rule, researchers have found three of the whales dead from ship strikes, and another two suffering from propeller wounds.
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