# Bush Bans Drilling in Mariana Trench **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 6, 2009, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-bans-drilling-in-mariana-trench/480091 "2009-01-06T15:01:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BJMoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@BJMoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BJMoose)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2009, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-bans-drilling-in-mariana-trench/480091/1 "2009-01-06T15:01:59Z")
Seriously. Fearless Leader has gone Enviro on us. According to a small, uncredited item in this morning’s paper, Bush has designated about 200,000 square miles of the central Pacific a National Monument. The area includes a few uninhabited atolls and islands, the Mariana Trench, and a hell of a lot of water. Under this designation the area will be protected from oil and gas extraction, and commercial fishing. Now I can’t speak to the fishing potential of the area, having never been closer to the Pacific Ocean than Denver, Colo. But _oil drilling_. In the _Mariana Trench_. As some of you will remember from a certain thread a few years back, the Mariana Trench is the deepest point in the oceans. I can’t imagine even the greediest oilman wasting fifteen minutes of his time thinking about putting a well there. This makes about as much sense as banning jet skiing on the moon. The cynic in me expects an announcement forthwith to the effect that, since they’ve barred the oil companies from this huge area, it’s only fair that we let them have at that little ol’ ANWR thing. (Yeah, this is a bit lame. But it’s probably our last opportunity to Pit the current administration - unless some interesting names appear on Bush’s Hail Mary Pardon List.) ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2009, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-bans-drilling-in-mariana-trench/480091/2 "2009-01-06T15:04:16Z")
To bad because its a pretty darn nice place to dump nuclear waste 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2009, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-bans-drilling-in-mariana-trench/480091/3 "2009-01-06T15:05:09Z")
Indeed, 'cos nobody ever goes there. (One exception, I believe, but neither recent nor for long.) ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2009, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-bans-drilling-in-mariana-trench/480091/4 "2009-01-06T15:11:11Z")
It sounds like the kind of thing some 2nd grade class wrote to him about, and he decided, “Ehh, What the Fuck, go ahead and do it, doesn’t matter anyway, and I’m out here” ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2009, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-bans-drilling-in-mariana-trench/480091/5 "2009-01-06T15:13:07Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > To bad > > because its a pretty darn nice place to dump nuclear waste 🙂 What do you think the statue of our beneficent Bush in the trench is going to be made of? Like the other countries care what he designates off limits. For his next decree there will be no developments built on Mount Everest.:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2009, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-bans-drilling-in-mariana-trench/480091/6 "2009-01-06T15:14:01Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > Indeed, 'cos nobody ever goes there. (One exception, I believe, but neither recent nor for long.) I think I read about that. It was for, like, 37 minutes in 1954, right? 😃 hee hee hee hee _hee_ hee hee _hee_ hee hee hee ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2009, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-bans-drilling-in-mariana-trench/480091/7 "2009-01-06T15:16:06Z")
How much nuclear megatonnage will I need to drop a bomb in there and split the world in half? Just curious, like. ---
**Author:** ![zut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zut/32/2875_2.png) [@zut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zut)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2009, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-bans-drilling-in-mariana-trench/480091/8 "2009-01-06T15:58:54Z")
> [@BJMoose](#): > > Now I can’t speak to the fishing potential of the area, having never been closer to the Pacific Ocean than Denver, Colo. But _oil drilling_. In the _Mariana Trench_. > > As some of you will remember from a certain thread a few years back, the Mariana Trench is the deepest point in the oceans. I can’t imagine even the greediest oilman wasting fifteen minutes of his time thinking about putting a well there. The area includes more than just the deepest point in the ocean. In fact, I hear that… > [@BJMoose](#): > > The area includes a few uninhabited atolls and islands. Presumably, these islands will also be protected from oil exploration. Do you honestly think that’s a stupid idea? ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2009, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-bans-drilling-in-mariana-trench/480091/9 "2009-01-06T16:02:08Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > I think I read about that. It was for, like, 37 minutes in 1954, right? > > 😃 hee hee hee hee _hee_ hee hee _hee_ hee hee hee Are you talking about my sex life? ---
**Author:** ![scule](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@scule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scule)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2009, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-bans-drilling-in-mariana-trench/480091/10 "2009-01-06T16:14:15Z")
I don’t get it, what jurisdiction does the US have over the Marianas Trench? Is this just a regulation that will affect Americans? I can’t imagine Japan caring what the president has to say there, so I don’t get the point of this. ---
**Author:** ![troub](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troub/32/14802_2.png) [@troub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troub)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2009, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-bans-drilling-in-mariana-trench/480091/11 "2009-01-06T16:18:21Z")
They were listing the stuff in this area that will be protected on NPR this morning. [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99036156](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99036156) > [@](#): > > “It’s the sole place on earth that has huge active mud volcanoes, one more than 30 miles across,” says Josh Reichert of the Pew Environment Group. One bird species, the Micronesian Megapode, is the only known living bird which uses volcanic heat to incubate its eggs, says Reichert. > > And, says Reichert, the trench contains the second boiling pool of liquid sulfur ever discovered. The first one is on one of Jupiter’s moons. Sounds pretty cool to me. Lots of neat stuff there, but I don’t get the impression that it’s a very daring move to mark it off-limits. It’s a good thing to do, but it’s obviously a low-risk legacy-building exercise: > [@](#): > > “It’s a monumental achievement. If you add up all of the areas that have been protected over the course of the past two and half years, it’s far greater than any person has ever done,” says Reichert, who says he is celebrating the actions of a president who is not exactly known for his environmentalism. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2009, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-bans-drilling-in-mariana-trench/480091/12 "2009-01-06T16:19:20Z")
> [@scule](#): > > I don’t get it, what jurisdiction does the US have over the Marianas Trench? We run all the [sweatshops out that way.](http://georgemiller.house.gov/marianasupdate.html) Gotta protect em from oil spills. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2009, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-bans-drilling-in-mariana-trench/480091/13 "2009-01-06T16:24:51Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > To bad > > because its a pretty darn nice place to dump nuclear waste 🙂 You might think that at first, until the mutated 50 foot tall versions of deep ocean fish like [this](http://www.mypettalks.com/content/gallery/fish/slides/anm14-DeepOceanFish-LargeMouth.jpg) come up and start invading the upper reaches. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2009, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-bans-drilling-in-mariana-trench/480091/14 "2009-01-06T17:12:29Z")
I think it’s a great idea. In fact I think he deserves an on-site photo op. ---
**Author:** ![BJMoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@BJMoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BJMoose)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2009, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-bans-drilling-in-mariana-trench/480091/15 "2009-01-06T17:25:21Z")
> [@zut](#): > > The area includes more than just the deepest point in the ocean. In fact, I hear that…Presumably, these islands will also be protected from oil exploration. > > Do you honestly think that’s a stupid idea? Do you honestly think there’s enough oil to be had there to make it worth the trouble? ---
**Author:** ![BJMoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@BJMoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BJMoose)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2009, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-bans-drilling-in-mariana-trench/480091/16 "2009-01-06T17:30:36Z")
> [@scule](#): > > I don’t get it, what jurisdiction does the US have over the Marianas Trench? Is this just a regulation that will affect Americans? I can’t imagine Japan caring what the president has to say there, so I don’t get the point of this. Some Pacific Islands, including the Marianas, are US Possessions, so presumably they have the authority, at least in the areas near such islands. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2009, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-bans-drilling-in-mariana-trench/480091/17 "2009-01-06T17:41:55Z")
[QUOTE=BJMoose] Do you honestly think there’s enough oil to be had there to make it worth the trouble? [/QUOTE] No idea. Do you know how much oil is or may be there? BTW, we have a political union with the Mariana Islands which is probably where Bush et al is deriving their ability to set this thing up. That would be my guess anyway…sort of like the US relationship with Guam IIRC. I thought he set up some kind of big ass Pacific natural reserve years ago though. Is this a different initiative? -XT ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2009, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-bans-drilling-in-mariana-trench/480091/18 "2009-01-06T17:43:34Z")
Why the U.S. has jurisdiction: The area designated appears to be within the territorial waters of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas (in the same relationship to the U.S. as Puerto Rico), possibly with some in the Territory of Guam, a U.S. possession pure and simple. As far as I can tell it doesn’t extend into the Republic of Belau, which is “an independent nation in free association with the U.S.” (this is more or less PC language for “autonomous protectorate” IMO.). The other two sites are in American territory: one in American Samoa and the other in the Line Islands between Hawaii and Kiribati. ---
**Author:** ![zut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zut/32/2875_2.png) [@zut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zut)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2009, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-bans-drilling-in-mariana-trench/480091/19 "2009-01-06T17:52:57Z")
> [@BJMoose](#): > > Do you honestly think there’s enough oil to be had there to make it worth the trouble? How would I know? But the presence (or lack therof) of oil in the area wasn’t part of your original complaint, was it? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2009, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-bans-drilling-in-mariana-trench/480091/20 "2009-01-06T17:56:56Z")
> [@zut](#): > > How would I know? > > But the presence (or lack therof) of oil in the area wasn’t part of your original complaint, was it? This may indicate that Bush has suddenly developed a concern for protecting fragile ecosystems, even when it means denying profits to oil companies. I may also win the lottery. Let’s play the odds on this one. Daniel [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-bans-drilling-in-mariana-trench/480091.md?page=2)