Dear Editor, In reply to PM Mark Brown’s comment that he takes a scientific approach as opposed to our ideological approach.

Dear readers, this issue of Science vs Ideology is best answered by you.

Try this quiz while you have a cuppa.

Circle – S (science), I (ideology) and P (politicking).

S/I/P We’re going to be rich.

S/I/P Mining will destroy life and ecosystems in its path.

S/I/P Metallic nodules are providing habitats for deep sea life.

S/I/P Mining will draw Cook Islanders home to high paying jobs.

S/I/P Churning up plumes of sediment will release CO2.

S/I/P Metallic nodules produce oxygen as metals react with saltwater. It will take years to discover the significance of this finding.

S/I/P These nodules may be providing oxygen critical to deep sea ecosystems.

S/I/P The ocean is already under stress from multiple human impacts.

S/I/P Over 27 years old, small experimental deep sea sites still show no recovery, not even bacteria, recognised as the first sign of life.

S/I/P Money from mining will cover all our debts.

S/I/P There is more biodiversity in the ocean than in the rest of the earth.

S/I/P The ocean controls all global food chains.

S/I/P Mining will mean Cook Islands will never be in debt again.

S/I/P Mining will increase ocean acidification over an extended period of time; harming shells, reefs, and us.

S/I/P The total size of DSM (deep sea mining) sites presently awaiting approval is approximately 540,000 square km.

S/I/P Indications so far suggest the impact of DSM will be devastating.

S/I/P In destroying the capability of the ocean to support life, we destroy ourselves.

Totals - S      I     P

I trust you can figure out which are statements from scientists and which are the PM’s implications.

May 2025 reveal the ocean is the treasure ... E kua akamou Aia i te reira ki runga i te moana.

June Hosking.