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InstagramYouth win historic climate lawsuit against Montana
By Dana Drugmand
A group of young people who sued Montana officials for failing to adequately address climate change have prevailed in what observers say is a historic legal challenge.
mining
Deep-sea mining has larger-than-expected impacts on sea life, study says
The fast-growing practice of deep-sea mining poses significant threats to important sea creatures, such as fish, shrimp, corals, and sponges, according to a new study.
In push to mine for minerals, clean energy advocates ask what going green really means
By Shannon Kelleher
A traveler crossing the expanse of northern Nevada desert known as Thacker Pass might see a wasteland – nothing but scrubby sagebrush out to the rim of the caldera, where the mountains cut the horizon.
Climate change brings new urgency to threats posed by abandoned California gold mines
By Leah Campbell
On the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California sits the small town of Nevada City, a historic Gold Rush community where prospectors once mined for riches in the creek that ran alongside town. Today, it’s a popular tourist destination known for its easy access to the picturesque Yuba River and the region’s famed ski resorts.
Bill bans deep-sea mining in California waters
By Shannon Kelleher
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill this week that will prevent deep sea mining in the waters off the state coastline, a move that joins California with other western states in a bid to protect more than 2,500 square miles of Pacific Ocean seafloor.
Deep sea mining involves the retrieval of minerals and deposits from the ocean floor found at depths of 200 meters or greater. Critics say the practice can damage ocean ecosystems and pollute the sea floor with destructive plumes of sediment, but advocates say the practice is critical to meeting demand for minerals used in making an array of products, including components for batteries used in electric cars.
“We know incredibly little about what’s in our ocean,” said Matthew Montgomery, a spokesman for state lawmaker Luz Rivas, who authored the bill. “But while we don’t necessarily know what’s on our ocean floors, we know how destructive this practice (of deep sea mining) can be.”
The California Seabed Mining Prevention Act aims both to protect ocean ecosystems and California’s economy. Valued at $45 billion and employing over half a million people, California’s ocean-based economy is the largest in the United States.
“I think it’s a precedent-setter,” said Arlo Hemphill, a Greenpeace USA expert on deep sea mining. “There are whispers that Hawaii might do something similar. If enough states do this, it sends a message to Washington that we need something like this at the federal level.”