January, 19 2022, 09:56am EDT

For Immediate Release
Contact:
Taylor McKinnon, Center for Biological Diversity, (801) 300-2414, tmckinnon@biologicaldiversity.
Erik Schlenker-Goodrich, Western Environmental Law Center, (575) 613-4197, eriksg@westernlaw.org
Brittany Miller, Friends of the Earth, (202) 222-0746, bmiller@foe.org
Jeremy Nichols, WildEarth Guardians, (303) 437-7663, jnichols@wildearthguardians.
Lori Harrison, Waterkeeper Alliance, (703) 216-8565, lharrison@waterkeeper.org
Dan Ritzman, Sierra Club, (206) 573-5451, dan.ritzman@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON
More than 360 climate, tribal, religious and conservation groups petitioned the Biden administration today to use its executive authority to phase out oil and gas production on public lands and oceans.
The petition provides a framework to manage a decline of oil and gas production to near zero by 2035 through rulemaking, using long-dormant provisions of the Mineral Leasing Act, Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and the National Emergencies Act. Without such action, it will become increasingly difficult for the United States to meet its pledge to help avoid 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming and its unprecedented social, environmental and economic damage.
The petition offers a way to correct the Biden administration's collapse of climate leadership, including a failing legislative agenda and Biden's broken campaign promise to end new oil and gas leasing and drilling on public lands and oceans.
Several analyses show that climate pollution from the world's already-producing fossil fuel developments, if fully developed, would push warming past 1.5 degrees Celsius, and that avoiding such warming requires ending new investment in fossil fuel projects.
At November's COP26 summit in Glasgow, Biden called climate change "an existential threat to human existence" and pledged to cut U.S. emissions by up to 51% over the next nine years. Days later the administration offered 80 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico for oil and gas leasing, and it plans to offer more than 300,000 acres of public lands leases in March.
The Department of the Interior's review of the federal oil and gas programs effectively ignored climate, calling instead for adjustments to royalties, bids and bonding.
Meanwhile, the administration has continued to approve drilling permits onshore at a rate that outpaces the Trump administration, with more than 3,500 permits approved since taking office.
Federal fossil fuel production causes nearly a quarter of U.S. greenhouse gas pollution, worsening the climate and extinction crises and disproportionately harming Black, Brown, Indigenous and low-wealth communities.
Quotes from Petitioners
"This petition offers a lifeline for our planet and a course correction for the Biden administration's catastrophic failure of climate leadership," said Taylor McKinnon with the Center for Biological Diversity. "The natural place to start phasing out climate-destroying oil and gas production is on our public lands and oceans, and Biden has the authority to do so. If the U.S. leads, the world will follow. Biden must keep his promise to end federal oil and gas extraction."
"It's time to open new doors to a thriving, resilient future for our Western U.S. public lands and communities," said Erik Schlenker-Goodrich, executive director of the Western Environmental Law Center. "This petition does just that by winding down a cause of the climate crisis: a federal public lands fossil fuels program that serves the interests of oil and gas CEOs and investors, not the public good. We urge the Biden administration to accept the petition and move forward with swift action to protect the climate and public lands."
"At this time in history, according to Anishinaabe prophecies, people have a choice between a well-worn, scorched path and one that is new and green," said Winona LaDuke, executive director for Honor the Earth. "By all measures of science, spirit and humanity, it is incumbent upon you, President Biden and Secretary Haaland, to deliver on your promises to forge that safer path, ending fossil production on public lands and waters. We worked hard to help you gain office, and you abandoned us on Line 3; here is another significant opportunity to do the right thing. Here at White Earth we are celebrating the end of the fossil era, practicing our sustainable traditions and building the new green economy. We welcome you to come see how it's done."
"Last year over 132 million Americans experienced a climate-related disaster, with extreme weather costing over $145 billion in damage and leading to more than 688 lives lost," said Nicole Ghio, senior fossil fuels program manager at Friends of the Earth. "We cannot fight climate change while ignoring the fact that nearly a quarter of U.S. climate emissions come from fossil fuel extraction on public lands. It's time for President Biden to become the climate leader he claims to be and phase out fossil fuel extraction on public lands and waters."
"This petition simply calls on President Biden to exercise the climate leadership he's already promised this country," said Jeremy Nichols, climate and energy program director for WildEarth Guardians. "We can't confront the climate crisis unless and until we start keeping fossil fuels in the ground; it's time for the president to acknowledge and take action on this reality."
"Fossil fuel extraction on public lands and waters must end or it will only intensify the already devastating impacts to our climate and waterways," said Marc Yaggi, executive director of Waterkeeper Alliance. "Indigenous and underserved communities disproportionately bear the brunt of these impacts that result from long-standing federal policies that have favored industry over public interest. It's time the Biden administration keeps its promises and uses its position of power to be a climate leader that stems the tide of fossil fuel dependence."
"Oil and gas extraction is an environmental justice issue, continuing centuries' old exploitation and assaults on our Appalachian Ohio communities while greatly contributing to the climate crisis," said Roxanne Groff of Athens County's Future Action Network. "Our region is ripe for new technologies and innovative, cost-effective clean energy to protect our air, water, forests, and climate and improve public health and our quality of life. Appalachian Ohio's Wayne National Forest can play a huge role in protecting climate. Drilling and logging it do not serve the public good and must cease. This proposed phase-out is the least the Biden administration can do toward that end."
"Right now, fossil fuel extraction on public lands and waters make up a quarter of our greenhouse gas emissions -- at a time scientists are saying we must move urgently to cut emissions by at least half," said Dan Ritzman, director of Sierra Club's Lands, Water, Wildlife program. "Not only does it devastate our planet, it's a handout to Big Oil at the expense of average Americans, who will bear the brunt of its societal, health, and financial ramifications. We urge the Biden Administration to take advantage of this historic opportunity to make good on campaign promises, fulfill a global commitment to acting on climate, and serve American communities by accepting this petition and phasing out oil and gas production on public lands and oceans."
List of Petitioners
Center for Biological Diversity, A Community Voice, Action for the Climate Emergency (ACE), Alaska's Big Village Network, Alianza Americas, Allamakee County Protectors - Education Campaign, Alliance for Water Justice in Palestine, American Federation of Government Employees Local 704, Animals Are Sentient Beings, Inc., Animas Valley Institute, Anthropocene Alliance, Athens County's Future Action Network, Austin Climate Coalition, Baltimore, MD Phil Berrigan Memorial Chapter Veterans For Peace, Battle Creek Alliance & Defiance Canyon Raptor Rescue, Bay Area-System Change not Climate Change, Berks Gas Truth, Better Path Coalition, Beyond Extreme Energy (BXE), Biodiversity for a Livable Climate, Black Warrior Riverkeeper, Bold Alliance, Breathe Project, Brian Setzler CPA Firm LLC, Bronx Climate Justice North, Bronx Jews for Climate Action, Bucks Environmental Action, CA Businesses for a Livable Climate, Cahaba Riverkeeper, California Democratic Party Environmental Caucus, California Nurses Association, Californians for Western Wilderness, Canton Residents for a Sustain, Canton Residents for a Sustainable, Equitable Future, Cape Downwinders, Carolina Biodiesel, LLC, Carrizo Comecrudo Tribe of Texas, Catholic Network US, Catskill Mountainkeeper, Center For Ecological Living and Learning (CELL), Center for Environmental Health, Center for International Environmental Law, Central California Environmental Justice Network, Central Jersey Coalition Against Endless War, CERBAT: Center for Environmentally Recycled Building Alternatives, Chaco Alliance, Christians For The Mountains, Church women United in New York State, Citizens Climate Lobby, LA West Chapter, Citizens for a Healthy Community, Citizens' Climate Lobby, Columbia County Chapter, Ciudadanos Del Karso, Clean Energy Action, CLEO Institute, Cleveland Owns, Climable.org, Climate Action Now Western Mass., Climate Action Rhode Island - 350, Climate Crisis Policy, Climate Defense Project, Climate Finance Action, Climate First!, Inc., Climate Hawks Vote, Climate Justice Alliance, Climate Reality Project, New Orleans Chapter, ClimateMama, Coalition Against Death Alley, Coalition Against Pilgrim Pipeline - NJ, Coalition for Outreach, Policy and Education, Coalition to Protect America's National Parks, Common Ground Community Trust, Communities for a Better Environment, Community Church of New York, Community for Sustainable Energy, Community Health, Concerned Health Professionals of New York, Conejo Climate Coalition, Conservation Council For Hawaii, Cooperative Energy Futures, Corvallis Climate Action Alliance, Corvallis Interfaith Climate Justice Committee, Cottonwood Environmental Law Center, Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action, DC Environmental Network, Divest LA, Don't Gas the Meadowlands Coalition, Don't Waste Arizona, Dryden Resource Awareness Coalition, Earth Action, Inc., Earth Day Initiative, Earth Ethics, Inc., EARTHDAY.ORG. Earthworks, Eco-Eating, Eco-Justice Collaborative, EcoEquity, Elders Climate Action, Electrify Corvallis, Empower our Future - Colorado, End Climate Silence, Endangered Habitats League, Environmental Action Committee of West Marin, Environmental Justice Ministry, Extinction Rebellion Boston, Extinction Rebellion San Francisco Bay Area, Fairbanks Climate Action Coalition, First Wednesdays San Leandro, FLOW (For Love of Water), Food & Water Watch, Fossil Free California, Frac Sand Sentinel: Project Outreach, FrackBusters NY, FracTracker Alliance, Franciscan Action Network, FreshWater Accountability Project, Fridays for Future U.S., Friends For Environmental Justice, Friends of the Bitterroot, Friends of the Earth, Fund for Wild Nature, Gas Free Seneca, George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication, Georgia Conservation Voters, Global Warming Education Network (GWEN), Global Witness, Golden Egg Permaculture, Grassroots Coalition, Grassroots Environmental Education, Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, Grays Harbor Audubon Society, Great Egg Harbor Watershed Association, Great Old Broads for Wilderness, Greater New Orleans Interfaith Climate Coalition, Green America, Green New Deal Virginia, Green Newton Inc., Green River Action Network, Greenbelt Climate Action Network, GreenFaith, Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy, Heal the Bay, HealthyPlanet, Heartwood, Heirs To Our Oceans, High Country Conservation Advocates, Hilton Head for Peace, Honor the Earth, Howling For Wolves, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, I-70 Citizens Advisory Group, In the Shadow of the Wolf, Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition, Indigenous Environmental Network, Indigenous Peoples of the Coastal Bend, Indivisible Ambassadors, Indivisible San Jose, inNative - Business Management Consulting, Inspiration of Sedona, Institute for Policy Studies Climate Policy Program, Interfaith EarthKeepers, Interfaith Earthkeepers Eugene/Springfield Oregon, International Marine Mammal Project of Earth Island Institute, Jewish Climate Action Network, Justice & Beyond Louisiana, Karankawa Kadla, Kentucky Conservation Committee, Klamath Forest Alliance, KyotoUSA, LaPlaca and Associates LLC, L'eau Est La Vie Camp, Let There Be Light International, Liberty Tree Foundation for the Democratic Revolution. Living Rivers & Colorado Riverkeeper, LLCv, Long Beach Alliance for Clean Energy, Los Padres ForestWatch, Louisiana League of Conscious Voters, Love Wild Horses(r) 501c3, Lutherans Restoring Creation, Malach Consulting. Maryland Ornithological Society, Mass Peace Action, Massachusetts Forest Watch, Media Alliance, Michigan Interfaith Power & Light, Mid-Missouri Peaceworks, Milwaukee Riverkeeper, Mission Blue, Montana Environmental Information Center, Montbello Neighborhood Improvement Association, Mountain Progressives Frazier Park CA, Movement Rights, Movement Training Network, Nature Coast Conservation, Inc., NC Climate Justice, Ndn Bayou Food Forest, New Energy Economy, New Mexico Climate Justice, New Mexico Environmental Law Center, NJ State Industrial Union Council, North American Climate, Conservation and Environment, North Bronx Racial Justice, North Carolina Council of Churches, North County Earth Action, North Range Concerned Citizens, Northern Michigan Environmental Action Council, NY4WHALES, NYC Friends of Clearwater, Oasis Earth, Occupy Bergen County (New Jersey), Ocean Conservation Research, Oceanic Preservation Society, Ogeechee Riverkeeper, Oil and Gas Action Network, Oil Change International, Operation HomeCare, Inc., Our Revolution, Our Revolution Massachusetts (ORMA), Partnership for Policy Integrity, PeaceWorks of Greater Brunswick, Peak Plastic Foundation, Pelican Media, People for a Healthy Environment, People's Justice Council/Alabama Interfaith Power and Light, Peoples Climate Movement - NY, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Physicians for Social Responsibility Arizona, Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania, PlasticFreeRestaurants.org, Port Arthur Community Action Network, Presente.org, Preserve Giles County, Preserve Montgomery County VA, Progressive Democrats of America, Project Coyote, Protect Our Water AZ, Public Citizen, Public Lands Project, Rachel Carson Council, Raptors Are The Solution, RATT Pack, RE Sources, Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, Renewable Energy Long Island, Resource Renewal Institute, Rio Grande International Study Center, RootsAction, Samuel Lawrence Foundation, San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society, San Francisco Bay Physicians for Social Responsibility, Sane Energy Project, Santa Barbara Standing Rock Coalition, Santa Barbara Urban Creeks Council, Santa Cruz Climate Action Network, Santa Fe Forest Coalition, Save Our Illinois Land, Save The Colorado, SAVE THE FROGS!, Save the Pine Bush, SD350, Seaside Sustainability.org, SEE-LA (Social Eco Education-LA), Seeding Sovereignty, Seneca Lake Guardian, Sequoia ForestKeeper(r), Sevier Citizens for Clean Air & Water Inc., Sierra Club, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Justice Team, Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, SoCal 350 Climate Action, Social Justice Commission (Episcopal Diocese of Western MA), Society of Fearless Grandmothers-Santa Barbara, Solar Wind Works, SOMA Action, South Asian Fund For Education Scholarship and Training Inc (SAFEST), South Dakota Chapter of the Sierra Club, South Florida Wildlands Association, Southwest Native Cultures, Spottswoode Winery, Inc., Stand.earth, Stop SPOT & Gulflink, Sunflower Alliance, Sunrise LA, Susanne Moser Research & Consulting, Syracuse Cultural Workers, System Change Not Climate Change, Tennessee Riverkeeper, Terra Advocati, The Climate Mobilization North Jersey, The Consoria, The Earth Bill Network, The Enviro Show, The Green House Connection Center, The Oakland Institute, The People's Justice Council, The Quantum Institute, The Rewilding Institute, The River Project, To Nizhoni Ani, Transition Sebastopol, Tualatin Riverkeepers, Turtle Island Restoration Network, Unitarian Universalist Association, Unitarian Universalists for a Just Economic Community, Unite North Metro Denver, United for Action, United For Clean Energy, United University Professions, Upper Gila Watershed Alliance, Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition, Upper West Side Recycling, Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, UU Fellowship of Corvallis Climate Action Team, V & T Ventures, LLC, Vanderbilt dba Greenvest, Vegan Flag, Verdedenver, Vermont Yankee, Decommissioning Alliance, Veterans For Climate Justice, Volusia Climate Action, Vote Climate, Wall of Women, Wasatch Clean Air Coalition, Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility, WATCH, INC., Watchdogs of Southeastern PA (WaSEPA), Waterkeeper Alliance, WESPAC Foundation, Inc., West 80s Neighborhood Association, West Berkeley Alliance for Clean Air and Safe Jobs, West Dryden Residents Against the Pipeline, Western Environmental Law Center, Western Nebraska Resources Council, White Rabbit Grove RDNA, Wild Nature Institute, Wild Watershed, WildEarth Guardians, Wilderness Workshop, Women's Earth and Climate Action Network, Women's March Santa Barbara, Womxn from the Mountain, SafeEnergyAnalyst.org, Zero Hour, 198 Methods, 1st United Methodist Church Corvallis OR Environmental Care Team, 350 Butte County, 350 Chicago, 350 Colorado, 350 Conejo / San Fernando Valley, 350 Hawaii, 350 Humboldt, 350 Kishwaukee, 350 Marin, 350 New Hampshire, 350 New Orleans, 350 Pensacola, 350 Seattle, 350 Silicon Valley, 350 Tacoma, 350 Triangle, 7 Directions of Service
Background
Peer-reviewed science estimates that a nationwide federal fossil fuel leasing ban would reduce carbon emissions by 280 million tons per year, ranking it among the most ambitious federal climate policy proposals in recent years.
Oil, gas and coal extraction uses mines, well pads, gas lines, roads and other infrastructure that destroys habitat for wildlife, including threatened and endangered species. Oil spills and other harms from offshore drilling have done immense damage to ocean wildlife and coastal communities. Fracking and mining also pollute watersheds and waterways that provide drinking water to millions of people.
Federal fossil fuels that have not been leased to the industry contain up to 450 billion tons of potential climate pollution; those already leased to industry contain up to 43 billion tons.
At the Center for Biological Diversity, we believe that the welfare of human beings is deeply linked to nature — to the existence in our world of a vast diversity of wild animals and plants. Because diversity has intrinsic value, and because its loss impoverishes society, we work to secure a future for all species, great and small, hovering on the brink of extinction. We do so through science, law and creative media, with a focus on protecting the lands, waters and climate that species need to survive.
(520) 623-5252LATEST NEWS
'Authoritarianism in Action': Trump Orders DOJ Probe of Democratic Donation Platform ActBlue
Rep. Jamie Raskin called Trump's memorandum "the kind of edict you'd expect from a power-mad dictator in a Banana Republic."
Apr 25, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday launched his latest attack on political opponents by directing the Justice Department to investigate ActBlue, a critical fundraising platform for Democrats and progressive organizations.
The order came in the form of a memorandum that the president signed shortly before heading to his Virginia golf course for a $1 million-per-plate fundraiser for MAGA Inc., a pro-Trump super PAC that has been accused of receiving illegal straw-donor contributions.
In his memorandum, Trump raised "concerns" about straw donations—when a donor makes a contribution through another person or entity—and directed U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to "investigate allegations regarding the unlawful use of online fundraising platforms to make 'straw' or 'dummy' contributions or foreign contributions to political candidates and committees, and to take all appropriate actions to enforce the law."
Trump's memorandum cites a recent report from House Republicans accusing ActBlue of "a lack of commitment to stopping fraud." ActBlue and House Democrats rejected the GOP findings at the time, calling the document "less of a report and more of a desperate effort to change the subject."
"This president, with his approval ratings underwater and sinking like a stone, is desperately seeking to undermine his political opposition by cutting off their access to funding."
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said Thursday that Trump's broadside against ActBlue marks a similar attempt to divert attention from the president's own corruption.
"Donald Trump pocketed millions of dollars in unlawful payments from foreign governments during his first term, his administration shut down a probe into whether his campaign received an illegal and urgent $10 million bribe from Egypt, and foreign nationals are spending millions on Trump-owned cryptocurrencies right now in apparent hopes of buying their way out of federal criminal investigations through undisclosed payments," Raskin said in a statement.
"The Trump administration has also systematically dismantled crime-fighting efforts at the Department of Justice aimed at foreign corruption of our politics and actually announced its indifference to violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act," he continued. "So it's rich indeed for Americans to read now that Trump has launched a big initiative to 'crack down on foreign influence' in American politics with one purpose—crippling the fundraising platform of his political opponents."
"Today's presidential decree targeting the campaign infrastructure of the Democratic Party with precisely zero evidence of wrongdoing is the kind of edict you'd expect from a power-mad dictator in a Banana Republic. This president, with his approval ratings underwater and sinking like a stone, is desperately seeking to undermine his political opposition by cutting off their access to funding."
Since its inception in 2004, ActBlue has raised nearly $17 billion through its platform, and it is widely used by Democratic candidates and progressive groups, including organizations critical of the Democratic leadership such as Justice Democrats. (Common Dreams is among the organizations that use ActBlue to process donations.)
According to ActBlue, nearly 15 million Democratic donors have saved their payment information on the platform.
In a statement, ActBlue said that "today's escalation by the White House is blatantly unlawful and needs to be seen for what it is: Donald Trump's latest front in his campaign to stamp out all political, electoral, and ideological opposition."
"ActBlue will immediately pursue all legal avenues to protect and defend itself," the organization added.
Ken Martin, chair of the Democratic National Committee, called Trump's investigation order "authoritarianism in action." In a joint statement, Martin and the heads of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and Democratic Governors Association said that "Trump's memorandum targeting ActBlue is designed to undermine democratic participation—and it's no wonder why."
"He knows Americans are already fed up with his chaotic agenda that is driving the economy off a cliff, so he's trying to block lawful grassroots donations from supporters giving just $5 or $10 to candidates who oppose him while further empowering the corrupt billionaires who already control his administration," the Democratic leaders said. "As Democrats, we're unified in standing with the millions of Americans who are fighting back against Trump's dangerous abuses of power."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Trump Signs Executive Order to Advance 'Deeply Dangerous' Deep-Sea Mining
"The harm caused by deep-sea mining isn't restricted to the ocean floor: It will impact the entire water column, top to bottom, and everyone and everything relying on it," one campaigner warned.
Apr 24, 2025
Amid global calls for a ban on deep-sea mining to protect marine ecosystems, U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order to advance the risky practice and "restore American dominance in offshore critical minerals and resources."
"The broad order avoids a direct confrontation with the United Nations-backed International Seabed Authority and seeks essentially to jump-start the mining of U.S. waters as part of a push to offset China's sweeping control of the critical minerals industry," notedReuters, which had previewed the measure aimed at attaining nickel, cobalt, copper, manganese, titanium, and rare earth elements.
"The International Seabed Authority—created by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which the U.S. has not ratified—has for years been considering standards for deep-sea mining in international waters, although it has yet to formalize them due to unresolved differences over acceptable levels of dust, noise, and other factors from the practice," the agency reported.
Trump's order directs Cabinet members including Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick—whose department oversees the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)—to expedite the permit process and work on various related reports.
"Authorizing deep-sea mining outside international law is like lighting a match in a room full of dynamite—it threatens ecosystems, global cooperation, and U.S. credibility all at once."
Deep-sea mining is opposed by over 30 countries as well as academics and advocacy groups worldwide. Among them is Greenpeace USA, whose campaigner Arlo Hemphill said Thursday that "authorizing deep-sea mining outside international law is like lighting a match in a room full of dynamite—it threatens ecosystems, global cooperation, and U.S. credibility all at once."
"We condemn this administration's attempt to launch this destructive industry on the high seas in the Pacific by bypassing the United Nations process," Hemphill declared. "This is an insult to multilateralism and a slap in the face to all the countries and millions of people around the world who oppose this dangerous industry."
"But this executive order is not the start of deep-sea mining. Everywhere governments have tried to start deep-sea mining, they have failed. This will be no different," he added. "We call on the international community to stand against this unacceptable undermining of international cooperation by agreeing to a global moratorium on deep-sea mining. The United States government has no right to unilaterally allow an industry to destroy the common heritage of humankind, and rip up the deep sea for the profit of a few corporations."
No exaggeration, deep sea mining could cause the massive collapse of the entire deep sea ecosystem and food chain. This is an existential risk to every person on this planet. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/24/c...
[image or embed]
— Alejandra Caraballo (@esqueer.net) April 24, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Ocean Conservancy vice president for external affairs Jeff Watters also blasted the move, saying that "this executive order flies in the face of NOAA's mission. NOAA is charged with protecting, not imperiling, the ocean and its economic benefits, including fishing and tourism; and scientists agree that deep-sea mining is a deeply dangerous endeavor for our ocean and all of us who depend on it."
"Areas of the U.S. seafloor where test mining took place over 50 years ago still haven't fully recovered," Watters pointed out. "The harm caused by deep-sea mining isn't restricted to the ocean floor: It will impact the entire water column, top to bottom, and everyone and everything relying on it. Evidence tells us that areas targeted for deep-sea mining often overlap with important fisheries, raising serious concerns about the impacts on the country's $321 billion fishing industry."
He highlighted that "NOAA is already being threatened by this administration's unprecedented cuts. NOAA is the eyes and ears for our water and air. NOAA provides Americans with accessible and accurate weather forecasts; it tracks hurricanes and tsunamis; it responds to oil spills; it keeps seafood on the table; and so much more. Forcing the agency to carry out deep-sea mining permitting while these essential services are slashed will only harm our ocean and our country."
"It's not just our country this executive order would harm: This action has far-reaching implications beyond the U.S.," Watters added, warning that by unilaterally allowing deep-sea mining, "the administration is opening a door for other countries to do the same—and all of us, and the ocean we all depend on, will be worse off for it."
As The New York Timesreported:
The executive order could pave the way for the Metals Company, a prominent seabed mining company, to receive an expedited permit from NOAA to actively mine for the first time. The publicly traded company, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, disclosed in March that it would ask the Trump administration through a U.S. subsidiary for approval to mine in international waters. The company has already spent more than $500 million doing exploratory work.
"We have a boat that's production-ready," said Gerard Barron, the company's chief executive, in an interview on Thursday. "We have a means of processing the materials in an allied friendly partner nation. We're just missing the permit to allow us to begin."
In response to the late March disclosure—which came during International Seabed Authority negotiations—Louisa Casson, senior campaigner for Greenpeace International, said that "this is another of the Metals Company's pathetic ploys and an insult to multilateralism. It shows that a moratorium on deep-sea mining is more urgently needed than ever. It also proves that the company's CEO Gerard Barron's plans never focused on solutions for the climate catastrophe."
"The Metals Company is desperate and now is encouraging a breach of customary international law by announcing their intent to mine the international seabed through the United States' Deep-Sea Hard Mineral Resources Act," the camapigner asserted. "This comes after the Metals Company has spent years exerting immense pressure on the International Seabed Authority to try and force governments to allow mining in the international seabed—the common heritage of humankind."
Casson stressed that "states, civil society, scientists, companies, and Indigenous communities continue to resist these efforts. Having tried and failed to pressure the international community to meet their demands, this reckless announcement is a slap in the face to international cooperation."
Less than a week later, the Norwegian deep-sea mining company Loke Marine Minerals declared bankruptcy—which Haldis Tjeldflaat Helle, a campaigner for Greenpeace Nordic, noted came "on the same day that we shut down a deep-sea mining conference in Bergen."
The Norwegian government in December halted plans to move forward with deep-sea mining in the Arctic Ocean, which Steve Trent, CEO and founder of the Environmental Justice Foundation, had called "a testament to the power of principled, courageous political action, and... a moment to celebrate for environmental advocates, ocean ecosystems, and future generations alike."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Doctors Without Borders Says Trump Aid Cuts 'Are a Human-Made Disaster' for Millions
"We are an emergency response organization, but we have never seen anything like this massive disruption to global health and humanitarian programs."
Apr 24, 2025
As the Trump administration, spearheaded by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, dramatically slashes U.S. humanitarian assistance, the international medical charity Doctors Without Borders warned Thursday that the cuts are already "having devastating consequences for people who rely upon aid" across the Global South.
"The U.S. has long been the leading supporter of global health and humanitarian programs, responsible for around 40% of all related funding," Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF, said in a statement. "These U.S. investments have helped improve the health and well-being of communities around the globe—and totaled less than 1% of the annual federal budget."
"It's shocking to see the U.S. abandon its leadership role in advancing global health and humanitarian efforts."
However, with the Trump administration slashing funding for U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) contracts by 90%, including for programs that fed and provided healthcare for millions of people and fought diseases like malaria and HIV/AIDS, MSF USA CEO Avril Benoît said there will be "more preventable deaths and untold suffering around the world."
"These sudden cuts by the Trump administration are a human-made disaster for the millions of people struggling to survive amid wars, disease outbreaks, and other emergencies," Benoît warned. "We are an emergency response organization, but we have never seen anything like this massive disruption to global health and humanitarian programs."
"The risks are catastrophic, especially since people who rely on foreign assistance are already among the most vulnerable in the world," she added.
Although MSF received no U.S. government funding, the group noted that "we work closely with other health and humanitarian organizations to deliver vital services, and many of our activities involve programs that have been disrupted due to funding cuts."
"It will be much more difficult and costly to provide care when so many ministries of health have been affected globally and there are fewer community partners overall," the group said. "We will also be facing fewer places to refer patients for specialized services, as well as shortages and stockouts due to hamstrung supply chains."
"It's shocking to see the U.S. abandon its leadership role in advancing global health and humanitarian efforts," Benoît said. "U.S. assistance has been a lifeline for millions of people... We urge the administration and Congress to maintain commitments to support critical global health and humanitarian aid."
The MSF warning comes after the United Nations World Food Program said earlier this month that the Trump cuts to lifesaving aid programs "could amount to a death sentence for millions of people facing extreme hunger and starvation."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular