UN Quietly Advances Agenda 21

It appears that the human race and the UN in particular has learned nothing from our short but devastating history of inhabiting planet Earth. Not content with depleting and/or destroying the resources on the surface it seems the seabed is the latest target.

The prospect of a modern era ‘gold rush’ with the sea bed being the new frontier is moving closer by the day.

The United Nations has published its first plan for managing the extraction of so-called “nodules” – small mineral-rich rocks – from the seabed. A technical study was carried out by the UN’s International Seabed Authority – the body overseeing deep sea mining. It says companies could apply for licences from as soon as 2016.

The idea of exploiting the vast mineral reserves found in the sea bed is not new, it has been considered for decades, but new technology which would make the mining easier and safer, and the high cost of rare earth minerals seems to have provided the push needed to turn the drawing board ideas into reality.

Although experts from many different fields have highlighted the hazards that such mining would cause the UN seem hell bent on pushing through the proposal.

The International Seabed Authority (ISA) a division of the UN carried out a study and the report openly admitted that mining the seabed will cause:

“inevitable environmental damage”

Even with indications from the UN that environmental damage will occur, that biodiversity will be affected there has been a surge in applications for seabed mining licences from private and STATE OWNED companies. The licenses don’t come cheap, $500,000 each which allows the company to mine for 15 years. That of course is a drop in the ocean…no pun intended, against what these companies will earn from their pillage of the oceans.

One of the most recent applications that was granted, was to UK Seabed Resources, a subsidiary of the Lockheed Martin the US defence company.

Why these companies are interested is plain to see. A recent assessment of the eastern Pacific Ocean, an area called the Clarion-Clipperton Zone which covers an area of just under two million square miles concluded that that area alone contains around 27 billion tons of nodules. The licenses will cover the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

With nickel, copper,cobalt and even gold contained in the rocks the lure is in some ways understandable, but at what cost?

The possibility of seabed mining has already provoked scientists  to speak out against it. Biologists fear a loss of diversity and more importantly the possible disruption of the marine life food chain.

Many people rely on fish and other marine creatures as their main or only source of protein. Any disruption of the food chain would have disastrous consequences for millions of people who live in areas where livestock ownership is not possible either due to economics or the geography not supporting the raising of animals for food.

The UN set up the ISA to:

“encourage and manage seabed mining for the wider benefit of humanity-with a share of any profits going to developing countries”

It’s obvious that this is another way of saying they will pay compensation for the disruption that those living in coastal areas will suffer. Hubs will have to be built to off load the nodules and most likely processing plants to extract the valuables they contain. The spoil left after extraction will have to be dumped disposed of somewhere, most likely into the oceans, disrupting areas that were not licensed for extraction, further damaging the fragile marine eco-systems. It seems unlikely spoil will be dumped within licensed areas…it would quite literally muddy the waters and reduce extraction levels.

The ISA reports admits that:

“competency cannot be gained without actual mining on a commercial scale, but at the same time mining should not be allowed without prior demonstration of competence”

It doesn’t mention how that competency can be proven. We cannot continue to cripple the system that provides for us with impunity. Extracting much sought after resources from the sea bed may be a commercially viable option to those with billions of dollars to spend on the venture but to those that rely on the oceans for their livelihood and their food supply  it could well be the straw that breaks the camels back.

Starvation is a great way to reduce to planets population. Agenda 21 wrapped up as a benefit to humanity. Nice touch.

Delivered by The Daily Sheeple

Contributed by Chris Carrington of The Daily Sheeple.

Chris Carrington is a writer, researcher and lecturer with a background in science, technology and environmental studies. Chris is an editor for The Daily Sheeple. Wake the flock up!