The Bush Regime has gone out of character and protected millions of acres of environmentally-sensitive coastal waters and 7000 species in Hawaii. However, it seems like a brutally cynical political move (just in time for the midterm elections) which will do a lot to skew the statistics on how many other species and miles of coastline in the continental United States the Bush Regime has endangered on behalf of its supporters in oilbiz.

Hawaii is an archipelago with lots little islands with lots of coastline. If you add them all up (it's an area 1400 miles long and 100 miles wide, with lots of little islands included) it undoubtedly totals more than the coastal waters in Florida and California (or perhaps the entire continental USA) that have been endangered with off-shore oil drilling.

Getting really cynical, there's a question of where the money will come from to protect this swatch of sensitive environment after protection is granted. Given the track record of the Bush Regime, it wouldn't be surprising to have funding diverted to protect remote islands in Hawaii that might otherwise be used to protect the environment in the continental USA from the corporate polluters who are major campaign contributors.

The Bush Regime's environmental record has been horrendous, and this seems like an election ploy that Republican spin doctors can use to green-wash their unprecedented record for destroying environmental protections.