Yesterday, while visiting Hawaii’s Midway Atoll, President Obama officially made the size of a marine monument twice the size of Texas while highlighting his climate change commitment. The monument's new size has angered local fishermen and Native Hawaiians. The monument, created by President George W. Bush in 2006, puts more land and waters off limits to local fishermen and recreation, and Obama’s critics are calling his actions heavy-handed. The monument is now the largest protected marine Environment in the world or roughly 3.5 times the size of California.

A native of Hawaii, Obama used his executive power to expand the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, making large swaths of fertile fishing grounds off-limits to fishermen. That means they now have to travel at least four times further out to sea to catch fish like tuna, a costly adventure that actually emits more greenhouse gas emissions because of the increased travel time. Hawaiians not only consume three times more fish than landlocked Americans but fishing is a major source of local commerce.

Onerous restrictions equal fewer jobs

While environmentalists say the new size was essential to Native Hawaiians by making it off-limits to fishing and recreational activities, residents say they can’t afford the increased costs associated with the new restrictions.

Especially smaller fishermen who barely eke out a living. The new size, they say, would infringe on traditions that Hawaiians have relied on for centuries and would be counterproductive to Hawaii’s sustainable fishing practices:

The White House said that the region would suffer a six percent loss in fishing productivity, while others say it’s closer to ten percent of Hawaii’s annual haul.

But whether the figure is six or 60, Obama will be long gone from office as the impacts of his decisions resonate throughout the fishing community. That isn’t sitting well with House Natural Resource Committee Chair Rob Bishop (R) of Utah:

Drawing attention to climate

Obama also visited the Midway Atoll, the site of ramshackle buildings from World War II.

The Battle of Midway was considered a victorious moment during the last world war and according to Obama, the atoll could fall victim to accelerated rising seas. He said that communities like those that live on the Midway Atoll may have to move because of the effects of climate change, specifically sea level rise.

But Obama apparently is unwilling to keep up with the latest research since it doesn’t fit his catastrophic climate change narrative. As reported yesterday by Blasting News, a new study that looked at 30 years of sea level rise found the continents were gaining more land than they were losing. The study showed the Earth has gained 107,000 square miles over the past three decades, including 21,000 square miles of coastline.

That means continents are gaining in size, not shrinking:

Scientists have long held that in a warming world, the coastlines would be the first casualties as melting ice sheets poured excess water into the oceans. It would seem those fears were a bit premature as all indications show that sea level rise isn’t accelerating and has remained consistent for the past millennia. Part of the reason is that Antarctica isn’t melting as predicted and defying all expectations. It has actually grown in size since satellite measurements began in 1979.

Next up, the Paris accord

After Hawaii, Obama is expected to travel to China to ratify the Paris Climate Agreement despite not having the two-thirds approval of the senate, a constitutional requirement. White House staffers say that since the climate accord is not a treaty, Obama is simply making an executive decision. But with the purse strings controlled by the Congress, Obama will have a difficult time carrying out the accord with a budget of zero dollars and five months left in his term.
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