Washington, DC (July 2, 2024)—In response to the recent letter led by U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Rep. Ed Case (D-Hawaii), signed by a dozen House Democrats, urging President Biden to support a moratorium on deep sea mining, John Hocevar, Greenpeace USA’s Oceans Campaign Director, said: “We welcome the bold move by Representatives Grijalva and Case and their colleagues. Their leadership is essential to ensuring we do not proceed with deep sea mining without fully understanding its potentially catastrophic impacts on our oceans and the planet. As we navigate the triple planetary crisis of biodiversity loss, climate change, and pollution, we need to take precaution and ensure robust science informs any movement to begin deep sea mining. The mysteries of the deep sea and the critical ecological functions it performs to sustain life on earth demand our utmost respect and protection.”
“The deep sea is one of the last truly wild frontiers on our planet. It is home to species and ecosystems we are only beginning to understand. Rushing into deep sea mining would not only risk environmental disaster but also ignore the wealth of 21st-century alternatives and innovations that make such destructive practices unnecessary. The US has an opportunity to lead the world in protecting our oceans, and we are calling on President Biden to seize it by supporting the call for a moratorium.”
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Contact: Tanya Brooks, Greenpeace USA Senior Communications Specialist, P: 703-342-9226, E: [email protected]
Greenpeace USA is part of a global network of independent campaigning organizations that use peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future. Greenpeace USA is committed to transforming the country’s unjust social, environmental, and economic systems from the ground up to address the climate crisis, advance racial justice, and build an economy that puts people first. Learn more at www.greenpeace.org
