A little celebration and a little mourning

On Monday I happened to hear a report on the Bush Administration's latest conservation designation: the Marianas Trench. The environmentalists interviewed for the story were positively giddy about the designation of such a large area as protected. I tried to celebrate with them, I really did. After all, the Marianas Trench represents an important part of the seafloor--without it we wouldn't recycled earth--and the protected area encompasses some coral reefs. It also happens to be the largest designation of protected land.
Unfortunately, I found myself annoyed with these environmentalists. It may be something to celebrate, but as I listened to the exultation I couldn't help feeling betrayed. After eight years of environmental struggles I feel like this is an empty gesture. Anything this administration has felt there was any profit in has been cut up and sold off to oilmen. The Endangered Species Act is in the process of being gutted, the Department of the Interior's budget has been cut to bare bones, and things have generally gone to hell. We conservationists have been powerless to do anything, though thanks to Environmental Defense, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and a Montana judge who ordered wolves relisted a lot of potential damage was avoided through litigation.
Yet as I listened to these enthusiasts I got the distinct feeling that all is forgiven with this designation. They seemed to have forgotten that all is not rosy, and that was no doubt the impression that many people not well-versed in the environment got as well. I tried reminding myself that those people know as well as I that we've still got big problems, and that their words were edited for radio, but it really didn't help much. We have problems, big problems, many of which have been made worse by inaction on the part of this administration. As far as I am concerned, this administration will have to designate a lot more protected land in a big hurry to even come close to making up for the damage it has done.