Image by Thanos Pal.
Once again, Donald Trump is taking steps to destroy our planet. He signed an executive order fast-tracking deep-sea mining in U.S. and international waters for critical minerals such as cobalt, nickel, and manganese. The problem is that such activity will cause irreversible damage to fragile deep-sea ecosystems.
The Trump administration has framed the directive, which involves the 1980 Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act, as a strategy to boost the U.S. economy and counter China’s dominance in mineral supply chains. They claim it secures America’s national interests but it threatens marine ecosystems, violates global governance, and creates a diplomatic problem where none needs to exist in the first place.
A 1970s mining test, reviewed by the National Oceanography Centre, showed that while some deep-sea creatures recovered after mining, larger animals did not return to the test site. Trump’s directive, which encourages mining without robust environmental safeguards, risks permanent damage. Environmental groups like Oceana and the Center for Biological Diversity are warning that heavy machinery scraping the seabed will disrupt ecosystems for centuries, with sediment plumes smothering marine life and altering oxygen flows. The Clarion-Clipperton Zone, considered a prime mining target, is important to scientists due to its rich marine life and they fear it will disappear forever if Trump gets his way.
Not enough research has been conducted to safely ensure that we will not permanently destroy marine ecosystems. The deep sea is fragile and highly misunderstood. Other countries, such as France and Canada, understand the seriousness of the situation and have called for a moratorium until countries can agree on stronger regulations. Trump, of course, has no respect for international maritime law or the concern of other countries and is intent on disregarding scientific consensus, jeopardizing fragile marine ecosystems, and threatening an environmental disaster. Through his order, Trump is deliberately attempting to preempt global consensus on this sensitive and important issue and risks sparking a free-for-all in international waters, as competing nations will exploit resources without any international oversight.
By signing such a directive, Trump is flouting the International Seabed Authority (ISA), established under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Furthermore, the ISA is working on negotiations to finalize mining rules and if Trump bypasses the ISA, what is the point of rules-based order? This will cause nothing but retaliation between countries, perhaps a possible conflict, and certainly the erosion of trust.
Of course the White House is calling its effort to carry out destructive deep-sea mining as a boon for the U.S. economy, and estimates it will cause $300 billion in GDP growth and bring in more than 100,000 jobs over the next decade. But will it? This is nothing but speculation aimed at exciting the public. The facts remain that deep-sea minig has not been proven to be cost-effective commercially, and environmentalists agree that land-based resources are sufficient to meet America’s mineral demands.
In fact, Trump’s directive willfully ignores the economic fallout of environmental damage that deep-sea mining will cause. Fishery operations will be disrupted, waters will become contaminated, and any lost biodiversity will harm coastal communities and industries reliant on healthy oceans.
Trump’s “America First” approach may sound like music to MAGA ears, but this policy endangers deep-sea ecosystems, causes severe ecological devastation, flouts international law, and rejects global cooperation. We must protect – not exploit or destroy – our oceans.
Trump should be taking seriously the warnings of scientists, environmentalists, and climate activists. Instead of racing to mine the ocean bed and destroy fragile ecosystems, the U.S. should join global efforts to study and protect deep-sea ecosystems. It’s not “America First” – it’s “Our Planet First.”
The post Don’t Let Trump Get Away with Deep Sea Mining appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Chloe Atkinson.