Don’t Let the Trump Administration Open the Deep Sea to Mining
Your action is needed by September 5, 2025
Most of Earth remains unexplored. The deep sea—home to extraordinary creatures we are only just beginning to discover—may hold answers to questions about life itself. Yet the Trump Administration has quietly set in motion a plan to let U.S. companies dig up this fragile frontier for metals, despite the warnings of scientists and the absence of meaningful rules.
In July, the administration proposed revisions to the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act that would fast-track commercial mining permits, even in areas beyond U.S. waters. Because the United States never joined the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), this would mean bypassing the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the body most countries rely on to establish guardrails. In other words, U.S. companies would be able to mine the global commons under looser, U.S.-only rules.
The justification is predictable: new technology makes mining safer. But better mapping tools and autonomous vehicles don’t change the outcome. Mining the seafloor would still mean churning up millennia-old ecosystems, creating plumes of sediment that spread toxins across the ocean, and destroying species we haven’t even named yet. NOAA’s own scientists have acknowledged that such damage would likely be irreversible.
The administration frames seabed mining as necessary for the “green economy”—a way to secure cobalt, nickel, and other minerals used in batteries. But this is a false choice. We don’t need to strip-mine the last untouched wilderness to power our future. What we need is less demand, and that means rethinking the myth of endless consumption. A future that depends on bulldozing the ocean floor is no future at all.
The deep sea is not a resource bank waiting to be tapped. It is a living system that stabilizes our climate, cycles nutrients, and supports life across the planet. Disturbing it risks far more than any materials for our human consumption are worth.
This is a moment for public pressure. NOAA is accepting comments on the proposed rule, and ordinary citizens can speak up. If enough people oppose these changes, let’s hope the agency cannot ignore our voices.
The oceans are already under siege from warming, acidification, overfishing, shoreline development, pollution, and more. Do we really want to add deep seabed mining to the list? We can choose another path—one of restraint, care, and demand reduction—before corporations carve scars into a place most of us will never see but all of us depend upon.
How to Take Action
NOAA is accepting public comments on the proposed deep seabed mining rule until September 5, 2025. You can make your voice heard by submitting a comment here: https://www.
Tell NOAA that seabed mining would cause irreversible harm to the Earth’s oceans, that we need to reduce demand for new minerals instead of destroying fragile ecosystems, and that fast-tracking permits is unacceptable.
Every comment counts. This is our chance to keep the deep sea safe from exploitation.
Sample Public Comment
I strongly oppose NOAA’s proposed revisions to the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act. Fast-tracking commercial seabed mining permits would cause irreversible harm to fragile ocean ecosystems, undermine international cooperation, and place short-term corporate profit over the long-term health of the planet.
The deep sea is one of the least understood ecosystems on Earth. Mining would destroy habitats that took millennia to form, create toxic sediment plumes that travel for miles, and wipe out species before they are even discovered. NOAA’s own scientists have acknowledged these harms are irreversible.
The claim that new technologies make mining safer does not change the fundamental reality: seabed mining is inherently destructive. Instead of expanding extraction, the U.S. should focus on reducing demand for new minerals.
I urge NOAA to withdraw this proposal and protect the oceans we all depend upon.