Deep sea mining for net zero.

[Workerbeep]

Did anyone else catch the bbc worldservice Inside Science programme on 24th September?

I thought it was quite a balanced article concerning the possibility of mining for elements such as copper and nickel which are used in renewables, electric vehicles and batteries in our drive to achieve net zero carbon emissions.

Mining can have quite a heavy environmental (and expolitative) cost when not done sensitively or sustainably. i think we might be just kicking the can further down the generations and exploiting another habitat.

are mines owned by countries or private companies?

interested to know what you all think.
Inside Science

DOH!
Apologies, the programme is called The Science Hour, not inside science🙄

I'm a Pacific Islander, our voices are not heard at all in this debate. We are big ocean states, we have very little land, we have incredible environmental management systems Of Our Own. We in the Pacific are Sick To Death of being told how to manage our own economic resources by worthy people working in NGOs or governments in far off places. Especially when their iPads and laptops use the very same minerals they are so against being harvested or explored. When they have pillaged their own resources already and tell us we can't even explore our own? Hypocrites!

We are more sophisticated about this issue than the World thinks. The World thinks we are babies and possibly thinks we should stay poor and stay silent.

We are capable of making these trade-offs on our own. We have our own laws. We are beginning to understand our oceans. Technology is helping us to survey and monitor more easily.

We know that one of the benefits of mining exploration of the ocean is that scientific research relating to the ocean floor
gets done when it would never ever otherwise be funded or practically achievable. We know that we need to manage the impacts of mining technologies on the various ocean zones. We know that the financial flows are risky. We know we have to work with the private sector. Please just stop telling us what to do. No more condescending petitions. No more international moratoria for politicians' vanity.

That's all.

@Watchthesunrise I completely agree with your post.

I think if you get a chance to listen to this programme you will see it was fairly balanced; mainly concerned itself with science and engineering aspect however and not really discussing the wider global and local politics.

I do not think that private investment is wrong at all. Unfortunately in my country of Scotland it is often seen negatively and public ownership is seen as the answer to all our problems.

I remember reading about desert in China where they had found oil. Local population had for years had problems keeping the roads sand free. Because of this discovery investment was made and measures taken to introduce plants to help with this. The change was amazing with birds, animals and plants now populating a barren landscape, water retention increased and the people received much needed connection and infrastructure.