Congress must act decisively to protect the oceans and their fragile ecosystems from the destructive threat of deep-sea mining. The Trump regime's unilateral push to expedite permits for this extractive industry bypasses international agreements and jeopardizes the health of marine environments we have yet to fully understand.
The deep ocean harbors extraordinary biodiversity, with creatures that have evolved over millions of years to thrive under crushing pressures and total darkness. Many species are still unknown to science, holding vast potential for advancing our knowledge of biochemistry and life itself. Plumes of sediment from mining threaten to obliterate this biodiversity treasure trove before we can study it. Moreover, the seafloor plays a vital role in the global carbon cycle that stabilizes our climate. Disrupting these processes through mining could compound the existential threat of climate change.
Short-term profit motives cannot be allowed to sabotage the long-term sustainability of our planet's life support systems. Capitalism's insatiable drive for resource exploitation is fundamentally at odds with conserving nature's wondrous complexity. Corporate voices promoting deep-sea mining as environmentally friendly have a clear profit motive, and their claims deserve intense scrutiny. More sustainable paths like recycling, materials research, and reducing consumption must be prioritized over a new frontier of destruction. Greed and myopic self-interest cannot dictate humanity's relationship with the oceans we all rely upon.
Congress must stand firmly against this reckless executive overreach and defend the global consensus that has wisely restrained deep-sea mining - at least until its full consequences can be comprehended. The future of our species depends on farsighted ocean stewardship today.
First sent on May 22 by Coleman
