The Trump administration has been relentless in their attacks on our environment and climate—and the impact on our oceans is shaping up to be especially severe.

Late last year, the Trump administration announced the 11th National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program—a plan to open up over a billion acres of federal waters off the coasts of California, Alaska, and Florida to oil and gas drilling. It’s a proposal that’s been denounced by state leaders, environmental groups, and the hundreds of thousands of people who wrote in to express their opposition during the public comment period.

And that’s because the risks are just far too high.

Current drilling and shipping operations are already destabilizing marine ecosystems. Deadly vessel strikes occur with alarming frequency; loud noises disrupt species communication and hunting; and oil spills can cause both short- and long-term damage to marine ecosystems. Just consider Deepwater Horizon, the largest oil spill in history. This catastrophic event not only killed tens of thousands of birds and marine animals, but has had lasting impacts on the critically endangered Rice’s whale species.

With at least 4,000 additional oil spills on the horizon in the next 5 years—many of which would impact areas that have never been drilled before—another disaster of that scale becomes a distinct possibility. And it’s the endangered species, their habitats, and the communities that live near these ecosystems and rely on them that will ultimately pay the price.

And unfortunately, the Trump administration isn’t stopping there.

As if actively endangering our own marine ecosystems wasn’t alarming enough, the Trump administration is forging ahead with an even more unpopular practice: deep-sea mining.

In late January, the Trump administration finalized a rule to accelerate approvals for seabed mining in international waters—a move that sidesteps years of international negotiations to kickstart an incredibly controversial industry.

And it’s controversial for good reason.

Even though the impacts of deep-sea mining are not yet fully understood, it’s clear that the risks far outweigh the benefits. Seabed mining disrupts oceanic nutrient cycling, kicks up sediment that harms sea creatures, and targets the very mineral clusters that help provide oxygen in the deep sea. It’s an incredibly destructive process that risks irreversible damage to the world’s marine ecosystems—not to mention our most invaluable carbon sink.

And experts agree that the risk is completely unnecessary.

The Pentagon is already stockpiling thousands of metric tons of the critical minerals we would be mining under the sea. And even if the push for deep-sea mining could support the energy transition, scientists and researchers are making progress on new battery chemistries every day. It’s becoming increasingly clear that we just don’t need deep-sea mining to meet the critical minerals challenge.

With both offshore drilling and deep-sea mining, the Trump administration is putting some of our most vulnerable, ecologically important ecosystems at risk. And for what?

To stockpile resources we don’t need and, of course, make the rich even richer. It’s senseless destruction without purpose—and we won’t stand for it.

Join us as we advocate for our oceans, and remind our elected officials that there’s no path forward if we don’t protect them!