Deep-sea mining threatens ocean, global climate

This article was originally published on Liberation News in Oct 2019. There is a new race for resources: the ocean floor. Seabed exploration, a precursor to mining, is underway in remote parts of the Pacific Ocean as corporations and nation-states attempt to catalog the underwater resources. Highly sought-after metals such as cobalt and nickel are used to manufacture electric cars, drones, and other electronics. As land-based supplies dwindle, corporations fervently seek ways to exploit the vast untapped reserves of the oceans. The Clarion Clipperton Zone in the Pacific Ocean is one area that could soon be transformed by mining. About twice the size of Alaska, this region holds an estimated 1.8 times more nickel and 3.4 times more cobalt than all land-based reserves combined. Changes could happen quickly. The International Seabed Authority plans to release the terms of exploitation by 2020 for this entirely new industry. Yet, precious little is known about the largest ecosystem on Earth. Less than 0.05 percent of the ocean has been mapped at a detailed level. Read the full article, published in 2019: https://www.liberationnews.org/deep-sea-mining/