President Trump has signed an executive order to expedite deep sea mining permits, both in U.S. and international waters. That’s despite relatively strict regulations on deep sea mining established under the 1994 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. The U.S. is the only major coastal nation that has not ratified the treaty. Conservationists are calling for a moratorium on deep sea mining to protect vulnerable ecosystems in one of Earth’s few remaining untouched habitats, which contain deposits of minerals like cobalt, zinc and gold.