Dear friends,
For years poison our rivers, our forests and destroy entire communities ... and now drives in their pursuit of profits, big companies want to ransack the ocean floor to search for precious metals.
The 24 members of the International Association of seabeds can stop this abuse and their next meeting will be held this week! The fate of one of the most fragile ecosystems of the planet is in their hands. This association usually attracts as much attention as an underwater mine located at mile from shore, but we can bring the attention of the world.
Several countries have already banned or partially marine mining activities, and leading scientists have recently made a call to stop the exploitation contracts. Let's increase the impact of their appeal through a petition with one million supporters and a strong campaign in the media. We will hand-deliver our petition each delegate and we will make public the names and reactions. Sign now and send forth the news:
https://secure.avaaz.org/ro/
We joined forces on several occasions to protect the most precious and impressive ecosystem of the planet - the magnificent trees of the rain forest, fascinating fauna to the Great Barrier Reef. And now we have to stop a new "gold rush" that could destroy one of the last places that have survived the ravages made by mankind.
With hope and determination,
Alex, Laila, Alaphia, Allison and the rest of Avaaz Team
Deep sea mining: the new resource frontier? (Al-Arabiya)
http://english.alarabiya.net/
Marine mining: Underwater gold rush sparks fears of ocean catastrophe (The Guardian)
http://www.theguardian.com/
New Interest in Seafloor Mining Revives Calls for Conservation (National Geographic)
http://voices.
Deep sea mining hopes hit by New Zealand decision (Financial Times)
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/
Scientists call for temporary halt on new deep sea mining projects (Popular Science)
http://www.popsci.com/some-
Shedding some light on the International Seabed Authority (University of Southampton)
http://moocs.southampton.ac.
