HONOLULU—Halfway between East and West, President Barack Obama is traveling Thursday to one of the most remote corners of the ocean—Midway Atoll—to amplify his call for global action on environmental protection.
Few Americans have ever visited the far-flung speck of coral reef, with its black-footed albatrosses and spinner dolphin—and that’s exactly Obama’s point. As he nears the end of his presidency, Obama has sought to use the wonder of natural treasures to instill his pleas for climate action and conservation with a sense of real-life urgency.
In his latest push on conservation, Obama is expanding the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, which includes Midway, to four times its current size. Speaking to leaders of Pacific island nations ahead of his trip, Obama said that 7,000 species live in the waters, and 1 in 4 are found nowhere else in the world.
“Ancient islanders believed it contained the boundary between this life and the next,” Obama said. “This is a hallowed site, and it deserves to be treated that way. And from now on, it will be preserved for future generations.”
Hopping to Midway on a morning flight from Honolulu, Obama was to land on an airstrip that gained prominence half a century ago, when the Battle of Midway became a turning point in World War II. He planned to spend the afternoon touring the island that sits midway between Asia and North America, getting briefed by conservation officials and interacting with the wildlife, the White House said.
The marine monument, created in 2006 by President George W. Bush, will grow to 582,578 square miles under Obama’s expansion, an area more than twice the size of Texas. The world’s largest, the monument reflects Obama’s strategy of using his executive powers to put lands and waters off-limits to development, despite concerns from critics who argue his heavy-handed approach comes at the expense of vulnerable local economies.
Obama’s decision to expand the monument was the subject of fierce debate within Hawaii, with both sides invoking Native Hawaiian culture to argue why it should or shouldn’t be expanded. Supporters argued the larger monument was needed to protect a place considered sacred by Native Hawaiians by making it off-limits to commercial fishing and recreational activities. But opponents argued the region is heavily dependent on fishing and can’t afford the hit, adding that a federal ban would infringe on the traditions that ancient Hawaiians used to protect natural resources.
The unusual visit to a place where just a few dozen people live comes as Obama uses his final months in office to try to galvanize global action on climate change, which he says is inherently linked to conservation. After Midway, Obama planned to open his final trip to Asia on Saturday with a visit to China, a chance to showcase his unlikely partnership with Chinese President Xi Jinping on global warming.
