Ocean feelings run deep as part of campaign
VOLUNTEERS from Greenpeace Swansea took part in a nationwide protest calling for the UK Government to ensure our oceans are off-limits to deep sea mining.
Volunteers were snapped with homemade banners at Rhossili beach.
These images, along with hundreds of others from across the country, were to be sent directly to the government as part of a campaign against plans to rip up the ocean floor for profit.
Swansea Greenpeace co-ordinator Alison Broady, from Mount Pleasant, Swansea, said: “The deep sea might seem a world away from Swansea, but in the year that the UK hosts the UN climate negotiations, we have a chance to prevent the needless destruction of our oceans. We’re sending a message to the UK Government that they need to take ocean protection seriously, and end their support for deep sea mining.”
Kathy Oakwood, also of Swansea Greenpeace, said: “Swansea Greenpeace has been campaigning for years for oceans protection, and welcomes the support of Swansea MP Geraint Davies, demonstrated at our photo exhibition last year to showcase the beauty of our oceans.”
The nationwide banner protest is the latest step in the campaign to protect oceans.
Earlier this month, Swansea Greenpeace hosted online screenings of Greenpeace’s docuseries Ocean Witness, and hundreds of people tweeted the Foreign Office Minister Zac Goldsmith about the need for a strong Global Ocean Treaty.
Ms Broady added: “Rather than a handful of companies exploiting the deep sea for profit, we need to prioritise reusing resources and moving to a sustainable, circular economy. I don’t want the phone I use, the battery in my electric car, or the chips in my computer to be there as a result of damage to such a precious and beautiful ecosystem.”