Mining the sea

Another example of the erosion of democracy

---SMR

This is the thin edge of the Wedge and if it is railroaded through we can expect the Dam to Burst.

"TTR has applied for a marine license to mine a 65sqkm are of the seabed for black sand (ironsands), off the coast of South Taranaki. It is the first such application for offshore black sand mining and, if approved, is likely to create a precedent for other companies who have permits right up the North Island’s West Coast from Taranaki to Cape Reinga."

These mining ships literally Vacuum up the seabed, killing and disturbing the entire ecology, Spray the sand onto huge Magnet arrays which remove the Iron and other components then dump the disturbed mess back into our pristine oceans wili-nili. They say that they deposit the Sand where it comes from but who can prove that and at the very least they have strip-mined the area and we all know what that looks like when we can see it.

Unless we stop this Government of Ecological Vandals in it's tracks, The Global Corporate Elite will strip-mine this Planet and this Country to death.

Get Rid of John Key John Key is an idiot Arrest John Key Arrest the Bankers.

---Kevin Hester

EPA seabed mining hearing laws undermining democracy

Tuesday, 8 April 2014, 2:06 pm

Press Release: Kiwis Against Seabed Mining

EPA seabed mining hearing laws undermining democracy

Press release, 9 April 2014

Sccop,

8 April, 2014

Rules around the EPA’s decision-making process on the country’s first seabed mining application under the new Exclusive Economic Zone Act are undemocratic and make it nearly impossible for adequate public input, Kiwis Against Seabed Mining (KASM) said today.

Echoing the sentiments expressed by the Environment Defence Society this morning, KASM Chairperson Phil McCabe said the entire process appears to have been set up to favour the applicant, Trans Tasman Resources (TTR), and to severely curtail public input.

The tight timeframes set up and adversarial environment where TTR lawyers are able to attend every hearing day, when the hearing runs from March to May, mean that it is virtually impossible for submitters to keep up.

TTR has applied for a marine license to mine a 65sqkm are of the seabed for black sand (ironsands), off the coast of South Taranaki. It is the first such application for offshore black sand mining and, if approved, is likely to create a precedent for other companies who have permits right up the North Island’s West Coast from Taranaki to Cape Reinga.

“We have struggled against a mountain of evidence from the company, with so little time to examine it in detail,” said McCabe.

“Normally, tiny, voluntary groups like ours would be entitled to get legal aid, but the Minister for the Environment, Amy Adams, has decided this won’t apply under this new legislation. This is in contrast to the up to $25m ‘innovation’ grant the Government has awarded the mining company,” he said.

“If you steal an ice cream and can’t pay for your lawyer, you get legal aid. But not if you’re trying to oppose a mining company that is about to rip up our seabed in an area where the critically endangered Maui’s dolphin and giant blue whales are found.”

“We are having to move heaven and earth to fundraise so we can try to keep our heads above water, but with these timeframes and the Government’s refusal to giving submitters legal aid to counter the subsidies given to the seabed miners, we feel we are drowning in paperwork and evidence.”

Of the 4850 submissions to the EPA on the application, 99.5% were opposed, with only eight submitters in support, with most of them related to the mining industry. Local Iwi and the fishing industry are also opposing the application.

The hearings are in Hamilton this week, owing to the huge concern from people in Raglan, a black sand beach. KASM will be presenting its submission on Thursday

The dying Baltic Sea

Oxygen depletion in the Baltic Sea is ten times worse than a century ago

When the oxygen content in the bottom water reaches a low point, the only survivors are ultimately bacteria that live on and in the seabed. Here the patches of white sulfur bacteria form a shroud.   Credit: Photo: Peter Bondo Christensen

Science Daily,

26 January, 2013

Date: March 31, 2014

Source: Aarhus University

Summary:

The Baltic Sea is suffering from a lack of oxygen. Poor oxygen conditions on the seabed are killing animals and plants, and experts are now sounding the alarm -- releasing fewer nutrients into the Baltic Sea is absolutely necessary. The deepest areas of the Baltic Sea have always had a low oxygen content. The inflow of fresh water is actually limited by low thresholds at the entrance to the Baltic Sea. At the same time, there is a relatively fresh layer above the denser and saltier water in the deep layer of the sea. This results in an effective stratification of the water column, which prevents the mixing of water masses necessary to transfer oxygen to the water at the bottom.

The Baltic Sea is suffering from a lack of oxygen. Poor oxygen conditions on the seabed are killing animals and plants, and experts are now sounding the alarm -- releasing fewer nutrients into the Baltic Sea is absolutely necessary. 

After several years of discussions, researchers from Aarhus University (Denmark), Lund University (Sweden) and Stockholm University (Sweden) have determined that nutrients from the land are the main cause of widespread areas of oxygen depletion. The results were published on 31 March in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Nutrients are the villain

The deepest areas of the Baltic Sea have always had a low oxygen content. The inflow of fresh water is actually limited by low thresholds at the entrance to the Baltic Sea. At the same time, there is a relatively fresh layer above the denser and saltier water in the deep layer of the sea. This results in an effective stratification of the water column, which prevents the mixing of water masses necessary to transfer oxygen to the water at the bottom.

During the last century, the areas of oxygen depletion have increased drastically from approximately 5,000 km² in around 1900 to the present day, where they extend to 60,000 km² -- or about one and a half times the total area of Denmark.

"We analysed data for the water temperature, oxygen content and salinity stretching back for 115 years. On the basis of this analysis, we can determine that the many nutrients from the land are the main cause of the widespread oxygen depletion," says Professor Jacob Carstensen, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University.

Seabed without oxygen

Oxygen depletion occurs when the oxygen uptake at the bottom exceeds the amount of oxygen brought to the deeper water layers via currents and mixing by the wind.

During the last twenty years, climate change has also played a role in the poor oxygen situation. Warmer conditions reduce the solubility of oxygen from the atmosphere and increase oxygen consumption because the biological respiration processes are boosted.

"The water temperature has risen and will continue to rise in the years ahead. It's therefore extra important that all the countries surrounding the Baltic Sea are committed to the Baltic Sea action plan they joined, and that they comply with the necessary efforts to reduce the release of nutrients into the Baltic," emphasises Professor Carstensen, who is also director of the Baltic Nest Institute in Denmark.

Oxygen depletion on the seabed has a negative impact on the entire ecosystem. This is partly because the seabed turns into a 'desert' inhabited only by bacteria that can survive without or with very low amounts of oxygen. Some bacteria produce methane, which can bubble up to the water and tear large areas of the toxic, hydrogen sulphide-rich seabed with it. This involves sediment disturbances that can kill fish high up in the water column.

Studies show that it takes decades before benthic fauna once more return to a dead seabed when the oxygen conditions improve.

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Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by Aarhus University. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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Journal Reference:

1. Jacob Carstensen, Jesper H. Andersen, Bo G. Gustafsson, and Daniel J. Conley.Deoxygenation of the Baltic Sea during the last century. PNAS, March 31, 2014 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1323156111