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The Atlantic

The Atlantic

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How America Claimed a Breathtaking Fortune at the Bottom of the Ocean

The Atlantic
Summary
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82% Informative

The U.S. expanded its continental shelf by 1 million square kilometers in 2023 .

A larger shelf means legal access to more of the ocean floor’s riches: animals, hydrocarbons, and, perhaps most important, minerals to power electric-vehicle batteries.

America has no immediate plans to excavate its new seabed, but the combined area could be worth trillions of dollars .

The U.S. voted against adopting the Law of the Sea , one of only four countries to do so.

Reagan ’s reason: the regulations on mining, which he thought would hamper America 's ability to exploit undersea mineral resources.

Reagan claimed jurisdiction over all natural and mineral resources within 200 nautical miles of the nation's shores ( 230 regular miles ).

Parts of America ’s new shelf overlap with those of the Bahamas , Canada , and Japan , prompting ongoing negotiations.

Most mainstream U.S. government officials want America to ratify the Law of the Sea treaty.

But Republican lawmakers have staved off ratification, which requires two-thirds of the Senate .

VR Score

85

Informative language

85

Neutral language

51

Article tone

semi-formal

Language

English

Language complexity

51

Offensive language

not offensive

Hate speech

not hateful

Attention-grabbing headline

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Known propaganda techniques

not detected

Time-value

short-lived

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