July 10, 2023
Featured image: Bamboo coral, family Isididae on steep rock in the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone Hope Spot © Dan Jones, ECOMAR Project
If you would like to watch our June 2023 live webinar with Dr. Sylvia Earle on this topic, you can view it on the Mission Blue YouTube channel.
By: Dr. Sylvia Earle
Deep sea mining is much on my mind. Greed, not need, has inspired an amazingly seductive marketing campaign that has generated a dangerous smog in the minds of many who are willing to accept the pitch without considering the harsh economic, environmental and common sense realities involved.
Imagine! The fate of half of the world is on the chopping block, with authority to decide actions vested in a council of 36 individuals representing the interests of 168 countries and – although most are oblivious to what’s going on – the interests of 8 billion people and all of life on Earth. Imagine giving anyone the power to green-light the destruction of Earth’s last great wilderness. With our eyes open, we tacitly condone destructive mining on the land where at least damage is visible and actions can help heal the harm imposed in two dimensions. Three-dimensional devastation is the unavoidable consequence of extracting nodules and crusts from the largely unexplored depths of the systems that underpin the habitability of Earth.
At a time when stemming loss of biodiversity and calming climate disruption are considered highest priorities for action to reverse planetary decline, why would anyone even consider unleashing massive biodiversity annihilation and up-ending vast stores of deep-sea carbon?
The only way investors can hope to achieve profits will be through government subsidies as it is inconceivable that even with advanced technologies, that the costs of mining the deep sea can outweigh the alleged benefits including bankable assets. “Experimental mining” endeavors have already gone bankrupt while imposing forever costs to society and to the planet.
It is encouraging to see alternative methods and materials for better batteries that do not require cobalt and nickel quickly coming on line – I hope soon enough to deter wishful-thinking governments and bedazzled investors.
