“Therefore, we solemnly declare that these United States ought to be free and independent again; that we are absolved from the dictates and bullying of Environmentalist NGOs, their representatives and their funders; and that political obligations to them should be dissolved.”

Many of the colonists’ grievances against King George III resonate today, as tyrannical environmentalists continue to block domestic development of minerals that are critical for our businesses, security and living standards. To protect our freedoms, we have updated that revered 1776 statement, to highlight and upend the status quo.

A Declaration of Mineral Independence

of and for the People of the United States of America from tyrannical environmentalist organizations,with a goal of full mineral independence by the 250th Anniversary of America’s first Declaration of Independence, July 4, 2026

WE still
hold these truths to be self-evident, that all Men and Women are created equal,
and that they are endowed by their Creator and protected by our Constitution
with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, the Pursuit
of Happiness, which require access to the minerals that make modern societies,
defense and other technologies, health and living standards possible.

To secure these rights, our Government derives its
just powers from the consent of the governed, and whenever our Government
becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter,
abolish or institute new laws.

This declaration of the need for change is not due
to light or transient causes. Unfortunately, many of our citizens and
businesses are more disposed to avoid conflict or start over elsewhere, than to
change the status quo, even while suffering under its ill effects.

But when a long train of abuses and usurpations by non-elected agents of the Government and Environmentalist Non-Government Organizations (ENGOs) creates legal despotism under the guise of wildly inflated risks, distorted scientific analyses, willful ignorance, and dire predictions of catastrophic climate and environmental disasters, it is our right and duty to throw off such laws and regulations and provide new safeguards for personal, economic and national security.

The ENGOs’ enormous wealth, fundraising ability
and political influence rightfully categorizes them as a major industry of similar
stature as their named “enemies” – including the fossil fuel, mining and
manufacturing industries that provide essential energy, basic building blocks
and products for life, defense, security and pursuit of happiness.

Our Nation now unnecessarily imports numerous critical
minerals, creating a dangerous dependence on foreign and sometimes unfriendly
nations, some of which pay little attention to American laws and standards
regarding environmental protection, child labor, and worker wages, safety and
health.

The global environmentalist industry has a long
history of imposing its narrow agendas with little regard for the overall well-being
of our nation and its citizenry. It instead seeks to assert control over our mining
and other businesses and those enterprises’ ability to raise and maintain the security
and living standards of every American citizen through fair commerce between
willing customers and providers.

The facts speak for themselves.

Environmentalist NGOs driving our policies, laws
and regulations have accepted billions of dollars a year from U.S. and foreign individuals,
foundations, corporations and government agencies. They use those funds to
advance their own global interests and those of their sponsors, to the
detriment of American industries, businesses, communities and families.

They have forced American taxpayers to spend
billions of dollars for little or no environmental benefit, without the consent
of our legislatures or citizenry, thereby subjecting us to foreign and domestic
powers that are unaccountable to the American people, our elected
representatives, our laws or our Constitution.

They have taken advantage of legal protections designed
for nonprofit charities, to ensure they are treated as being above laws crafted
for the public good, including honesty in public statements.

They have made themselves the dominant and
dominating interested parties in local, regional and national environmental reviews,
permit issuances and enforcement actions. They demand endless meetings and reviews,
often in places far from the locale of the affected businesses, in order to
delay, bankrupt, shutter or destroy projects that would responsibly develop our
nation’s mineral endowment.

They have repeatedly used their power and wealth to
influence and obstruct legislative, regulatory and judicial processes against properly
and ethically operated businesses and projects, interfered with property rights,
and disrupted fair debate over these matters.

They have blocked access to vast acreage through
land withdrawals and legal actions, preventing a determination of the highest
and best use of areas likely to contain mineral resources vital to our nation’s
defense, communication, transportation, medical, energy and other advanced technologies
– including wind, solar and battery systems.

They have done so even though innovative modern
processes and regulations can simultaneously protect the environment and human
health, while reaping the wealth of our lands to further the well-being of our technologically
advanced society.

They have demanded new laws, regulations and
ever-more stringent standards that industries must meet, despite their proven
ability and commitment to be responsible environmental stewards, even though existing
laws require that environmental and mineral development interests be balanced.

They ignore the fundamental reality that it takes many
years or decades to find and develop economically recoverable deposits of
strategic minerals, leaving our nation severely vulnerable in the event of a
crisis.

This has resulted in:            

• Excessive permits, licenses, approvals and oversight that
  chill investment in our country’s own mineral resources, mining operations and
  manufacturing industries;
• Higher costs for materials, goods and services, because
  of our unnecessarily importing minerals from foreign suppliers; and
• Unelected regulators deciding legal interpretations and disputes,
  levying financial penalties, and creating approval processes that are too
  time-consuming and expensive for all but the wealthiest companies and citizens
  to bear.  

Environmentalist NGOs have declared war on our nation’s businesses and citizens who seek to find, develop and utilize America’s bounteous mineral endowment to support our defense, living standards, and national interests.

This single-minded pursuit of environmental preservation
at all costs has harmed our communities and shackled the lives, livelihoods,
ambitions and property rights of our people.

At every stage, businesses and individuals have
petitioned for redress, but their petitions have been answered only by mockery
and continued injury.

Any special-interest group whose character is thus
marked as tyrannical is unfit to be the primary arbiter of choices of a free
people.

We have warned our fellow citizens of the
foolishness of ceding their future to this elitist minority. We have reminded
them of laws intended to protect our access to vital raw materials. We have
appealed to their sense of justice and endeavored to create workable solutions.
Environmentalist NGOs have been deaf to anything that does not advance their
overarching dominance over America’s future.

It is essential that we adopt a sense of urgency and declare our mineral independence, to improve self-reliance and better export to the world. It is crucial that we stop depending on other countries to provide mineral resources that we have in abundance, that are needed for our economic prosperity and national security, and that can be developed with proper attention to air, water, wildlife and other environmental values.

Therefore, we solemnly declare that these United
States ought to be free and independent again; that we are absolved from the
dictates and bullying of Environmentalist NGOs, their representatives and their
funders; and that political obligations to them should be dissolved.

Our businesses and citizens must have full power
to explore, develop and mine on federally managed lands, under responsible
modern environmental, health and safety standards; establish secure commercial
supply chains; and function as independent businesses and individuals under the
laws of these United States of America.

We will work tirelessly to implement this
Declaration of Mineral Independence, at the federal, state and local level, to
ensure the continued freedom and prosperity of this Great Nation.

___________

Paul
Driessen is senior policy advisor for the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow
(www.CFACT.org) and author of many articles on the
environment. Ann Bridges is the Silicon Valley-based author of “Rare Mettle”
and co-author of “Groundbreaking!
America’s New Quest for Mineral Independence.”