Mining the deep sea: the true cost to the planet
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- Опубліковано 2 чер 2024
- Mining companies and governments will soon be allowed to extract minerals from the deep-ocean floor. These rare metals are vital for a more environmentally sustainable future on land, but at what cost to the health of the ocean? Film supported by @blancpain
Further content:
Sign up to receive The Economist’s fortnightly newsletter to keep up to date with our latest coverage on climate change: econ.st/2APVAIj
Find The Economist’s most recent climate-change coverage here: econ.st/2Ij7kXi
How oceans are increasingly bearing the brunt of global warming: econ.st/34NOCyI
Natural disasters are quickening an already steep global loss of species: econ.st/2GTaBMJ
Read 1843’s article about exploring the ocean floor: econ.st/3lImrIc
An oil spill off Mauritius threatens protected ecosystems: econ.st/33n187o
Air pollution is returning to pre-covid levels: econ.st/3hn0prP
Why the world’s energy system must be completely transformed: econ.st/2ZpdAT6
Wildfires will be more common in a warming world: econ.st/2FkSqyH
The Greenland ice sheet has melted past the point of no return: econ.st/33hlLSA
Question; when is a green revolution not a green revolution? When it includes destroying and polluting yet another apart of the environment we, ultimately, depend on.
This has NOTHING to do with Greenitude, that's just some journalistic nonsense probably parroted from some industry nonsense. The material I keep hearing about is Manganese, which has a big place in the steel industry as it stands! And if you somehow get energy to go with it, that's just gravy.
The problem is we don't have limits. We will mine the ocean floor until a new problem emerges.
So what? Then we'll move to outer space!
@@The_Revolutionist Space colonization is a fantasy.
@@JohnnyBelgium
No, it's not. It's our future.
@@The_Revolutionist we can't even keep a planet alive that was alive before we arrived.
Star Trek is fiction, not a prophecy for the future.
@@JohnnyBelgium space doesn't need to be kept alive. Even if we use automated robots for mining, we will increasingly move our infrastructure to space, even if its just for biomedical manufacturing processes we can't do as easily on earth, it really is sticking your head in the sand to say we won't have a 'gold rush' in space.
Mining to help the environment? Sounds like a perfect excuse to mess up with the single untouched ecosystem on earth.
fully agree with you
Not untouched apparently: I heard researchers found plastic waste at the bottom of the Mariana Trench of all places.
Nothing is perfect. Every decision has a tradeoff
These law makers sell off anything for the right price
@@vavilon7109 yes, we have to take a different approach to public transportation, why cars, when we have mass public transportation.
Is there really not one single place on this planet we people will not ultimately f... up?
If you feel bad about it, then DON'T HAVE BABIES! This is the bare fact behind EVERY piece of green this and eco-that. GREENBLAB. If you keep expanding the population, then what we've been getting is what we're GOING to keep getting!
*The Economist:* With the help of isis...
*Me:* _Hold up_
same... I was like "You guys seriously couldn't think of a better name?"
@@Dats_Mark isis is an Egyptian goddess with beautiful wings
@@Dats_Mark Just name it "Boaty McBoatface"
hol up
Israelí secret intelligence service
Its heart wrenching to see that we humans have such a low definition of sustainable environment when what we are doing is destroying the already most sustainable ecosystem with our flawed system of sustainable development.
We lack any system
Humans are parasites slowly killing their host.
Agent Smith was correct...
@@GonzoTehGreat the system turns man into a parasite(fallen state)
@@camerontaylor7471capitalism
South Africa was built by heavily depending on mining. We still are to this day. The water from the mines is so acidic, its threatening our water supply. The mine dump of decades ago has a lot of metals in it that blow into our homes and make us sick. Anglo American is leaving the country after decades of extracting our minerals, we're left with no money hollow grounds and toxic mine dumps. How much did we benefit as citizens? $0. How did mining help us a people? This is just another way of polluting another part of the world where the world will not benefit but the rich will certainly do.
Wealth creation so rich people pay taxes and your kids can go to school
@@rusitoexplorador rich people don’t pay taxes.
Well you are typing this message on a computer or smartphone. Name some of the materials used to build these things? Metals. Where did those metals come from ? Mining. I have just answered your question.
@@brians132 You missed the point. You completely missed it, but I'm not surprised.
So f*cked up!
we want to destroy the place where we came from, when we are already destroying the place where we live. for the sake of benefitting careless people and money hungry people. love the irony.
Wow, I'm surprised human greed can be this deep.
We're going to mine the space and I won't believe human greed can be that high.
Punny punny
@@Anonymous-wy5dc they are too greedy to be human
Why mine for reasources when we could just improve the our recycling efficiency . . .
Agree we should focus on this first! but sadly it's more complicated as explained in the video our demand for rare earth elements will only rise so we also need to find the most responsible way to extract minerals without disturbing ecosystems too much. The ocean isn't a terrible idea as there's also are huge areas without much life so i hope we can properly regulate mining activities and only grant permission if all long term effects of mining in a certain area are closely monitored.
People buy what cheap
Unfortunately, recycling isn't very efficient nor very profitable, very little incentive to do more than the surface level of it, obviously, you can't just toss old circuit boards into a magic box and get some of those metals back. Gold silver, palladium, platinum are the top ones I can think off hand that are worth while. The processes for these are sorting by hand and so that costs are much higher as compared to having the stock material to create a new product with automation
@@SirMorNo Well there is already some advanced recycling plants doing exactly what you describe. The belgian company umicore is doing this right now with very interesting profits.
recycling is a part of it, but i think the goal is to mine what we need then recycle the rest of it, regardless, this method doesn't come with human rights abuses like you see in Africa at least, so its a step in the right direction
Deep sea mining will only be viable at much higher metal prices, at which time, mining lower grade deposits on the surface is already profitable again. The available resources on land are not economically viable at current nickel cobalt prices, but when prices go up, new reserves will be added (as continuously happened with oil when it was $100/bbl)!!! On the surface we can control a mine with proper legislation. In the deep sea, we can't!!! Also, let's first look at the biggest mine we have on this entire world: recycling our waste!!!!
Sad to see this.. we're truly the plague of this planet :(
This is a horrible idea. The potential ramifications are just not worth the trouble. Until mining companies can demonstrate responsible and safe minining on land, mining the ocean should not be considered. We already are severely polluting our atmosphere and our land, let's try not to extend the same treatment to the deep seas.
Yes. This. How is anything "Green," if it causes as much or more destruction where we can't see it, in the aim of less pollution where we can easily see it? We are looking to explore space, for homes and mining, while yet having explored and exploited undersea habitation, Antarctic habitation... The seas aren't our toilets. Life will survive us. Will we survive ourselves? I gain no comfort in knowing new species will replace those we exterminate, just as I mourn those who died in past apocalyptic cataclysms. Had past extinction events not occurred, sentience may have arisen millennia ago. What are we causing now? What are we holding back, by reducing biodiversity now? How long will the next sentient species have to figure this out, before our sun expands and exterminates all terrestrial life that hasn't been elevated and/or moved elsewhere by us?
The sea is very dilute and it will average out most pollution
A crucial missing element in this piece, is the environmental damages that deep see mining could cause. There must be some evidence on its potential harm.
There is, they just don’t talk about it.
How can there be any if we haven’t done mining before?
Well, they say Japan is already doing it.
@@seriouslybruh2146 Who is "they"? Do you have some sources? I'd like to read this, as I can imagine that stuff that affects the deep sea has some far-reaching consequences.
???
The whole video was aimed at highlighting the caution we must use and the knowledge we must gain in order to avoid environmental damage and loss. If you were expecting specific examples of deep sea mining damage, there won't be any since no industrial scale mining has occurred yet. But it is also true that we have some idea of what kind of damage might be possible. If we significantly disturb the bottom (which is pretty unavoidable in most kinds of seabed surface mining), great plumes of sludge would be created. If these plumes spread out and cover marine life on the bottom - what will the effect be? We simply don't know. And obviously if the destruction of organisms and their balance and interactions is important to consider.
Since these rare minerals are almost certainly necessary to helping us power a green future, I hope we will build robust, science-based rules and INDEPENDENT governing bodies that can work alongside exploratory subsea mining in order to study its effects. With the power to limit and redirect mining efforts, we could potentially "grow" the industry in a responsible direction. Just as we (most of us anyway) no longer do vast clear-cut forestry, but instead cut smaller forestry blocks defined by careful management strategies and then replant and monitor the areas, I hope subsea mining can be done in a responsible way. The key is to map and learn before and while we proceed with caution, rather than diving in and acting, then realizing our mistake after the fact.
I'd also like to suggest that governments set up ways in which the financial gains from such mining be utilized to benefit further study, mapping, protection and management as well as ensuring that a few massive industrial powerhouses don't monopolize mining as they suction up all the money and become vastly wealthy. The world doesn't need more of this.
Our desire for innovation come from our unwillingness to let go our convenience. Even after decades of evidences, we are still looking for that men made paradise.
a massive NO!!!! mining = destruction
a massive YES!!!! mining = prosperity
@@The_Revolutionist it is not like mining is destroying the entire habitat around it, but since it is underwater and I can't see it... who cares?!
@@The_Revolutionist Infinite growth is a cancer upon our finite planet.
Mining = metals for smartphones and computers. I think you own one so you obviously aren't so bothered...🤔
@@brians132 Smartphone and PC, which was produced from resources mined from the land, not underwater. There is a significant difference. I am very much against gutting everything in the name of comfort. How about reusing/recycling the otherwise discarded old screens/phones?
Is there something we can’t do as human species. Yeah, valuing our needs more than that of any other species on earth that shows sign of life and contribution to ecology.
They just want to ruined everything and making another excuse..
props to all these scientists for their services to humanity!
Thanks Clare for directing this film :)
Deep sea mining will still be way better than surface mining due to the fact that both processes (even after accounting for all possible net CO2 releases from the video) release the same amount of CO2 per kg of useful material ((or less with the former) especially given that there is more of what we want per kg of seafloor than there is per kg of surface material (given that the reason why the continental crust is so much higher is because it is less dense)); and that deep sea mining has no possibility of releasing arsenic, mercury, cadmium sulphuric acid and lead into rivers (given that such waste products can be left exactly where they are found, and are not going to move because they are already at the lowest gravitational potential); surface mining is continuously releasing all of those toxins into rivers and poisoning groundwater.
We don’t have the option to not mine for the materials we need; we must mine from the source that does the least environmental damage, which, until asteroid mining becomes a thing, will require us to mine the deep sea.
q.e.d.
Is deep sea mining already started
Just dig, don't pretend you care.
What the video should really be titled: Mining companies try to mine places that are out of sight and out of mind
This deep sea mining means we are no longer poisoning surface groundwater with cadmium, mercury, arsenic and lead, which means we are saving lives.
To stop deep sea mining is to make certain that we continue to poison our surface water supply.
I think we should explore space mining, it will be a lot more eco-friendly that deep-sea mining, which might disrupt the aquamarine life
I don't know about that. The problem is getting it back to Earth. You would have to do both the mining and refining in space and the infrastructure is going to take decades to build. We have until 2030 to drastically cut CO2 emissions so that isn't viable based on our timetable.
What is space mining and how is eco-friendly? Plz elaborate
@@qadirfarid427
There is no life in outer space as far as we know and the exploitation of ressources ther doesn't impact our living environment/climate, that's how it's "eco-friendly". As for what space mining actually is, I think you know don't play the fool...
@@edwinwilliams5322 Yes, you're right. Space mining would involve huge investments in infrastructure and lots more on extraction & transportation costs. The whole process itself will far exceed the returns for a while but if we're being real, we will sooner or later need to invest in it as our resources are finite here on earth, plus it's putting a heavy toll on the environment. That is why Bezos and Musk are keen on space exploration.
@@1fty Space minging is not why Elon Musk is keen on space exploration. Elon Musk has already said he thinks space mining will never take off.
I recommend stopping war games at sea if you really want to help.
More mining doesn't sound helpful at all. Just greedy
More mining is necessary for further development and production.
@@The_Revolutionist development and production of what? please, I need to know what's more important than the literal environment we live in
This is the FIRST time I heard someone mention naval warfare's impact on marine environment! It makes so much sense
Our civiliztion (including us) fit the very diffinition of cancer cell...
humans aren't cells
@@radiantsquare007jrdeluxe9
Analogy
@@debianlasmana8794 ewwww. Your mom is an analogy:p
You can't even spell.
It is very shocking to see how well educated people with a lot of information can opt for a dumbest solution. We know what we did with the mining on land. Money hungry people will never change.Governments should take a bold decision this time.
Thanks for this video. Some interesting insights shared.
This is amazing! and nature's best!
Samuel Amankwah-Ghana
To Matt: You are amazing. I am in awe, and I adore you, an exemplar of our species' capacity for Logic and Science to help not just us, but all Life. Please tell your spouse, the world's Aspies are eating our hearts out for someone like you in our personal and public lives. Thank you for existing and doing what you do. May your gods bless keep you.
Without even watching - massive NO. Terrestrial mining will still continue for land locked, growing & impoverished countries. Deforestation will still continue. DSM will lead to more whale strikes (who are already endangered) & other marine creatures due to increased shipping traffic. Deafening noise pollution for the same. Contamination of the water column. Increased marine pollution. Modern day pirates - with cargo needing 24hr naval protection. Extinction of endemic species which took millions of years to evolve & habit which will never recover. Unknown repercussions to the whole biosphere. Terrible idea, with some scientists riding the train.
There riding the train for the money you know how long it took for those corals and reef also animals and creatures to grow like that way more longer than a lifetime your kids lifetime your mom and grandma lifetime couldn't make it up you all done mess up the earth now want a next victim y'all ready to go to space and all mess up the last untouched and undiscovered place on the earth is the sea so you do the math we destroyed the land air and now there after the sea 🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️
This is just panic mongering based on zero evidence. You sound like the luddites and the hair shirters,
@@edwardjohn5936
Calm down you unhinged Greta! Breath! 😂😂😂
You clearly have no idea what you're talking about...
I'd rather we diversify our mineral supply. Get people off land and into the seas... Where the USAiyans have the ultimate control funny enough. Could see a third world war fought over ocean resources. The people who win will mine with zero regard for the ecosystem, because the potential devastation will not be felt for decades to come... When the old money dies.
Desciption of Christmas with the family 0:07
I worry that miners accidentally drill into a deal sea oil deposit. Imagine the devastation.
That wouldn't happen. Deep sea mining is about collecting metal nodules and deposits on the surface of the ocean floor, not drilling underneath it.
@@brians132 that's better I suppose
@@brians132 lol you actually believe that!?
This is a perfect example of environmentalists jumping onto an issue without even knowing the full details
@@miamitten1123 Its huge machines that collect these nodules, it will affect the envoirment due to the huge sand smoke that will come up from behind the machine. Its like a giant vaccum cleaner, it doed not drill.
It’s not like land mining is environmentally friendly either. The only reason why sea mining is feared so much is simply because it’s new. People are naturally afraid of new things, no matter what they propose. I would like sea mining to be done in an environmentally aware manner though, which is possible. We should focus on how to do it sustainably and respectfully rather than how to not do it at all. Lets strive for innovation and preservation, not just one or the other
this video is very helpful. 🧗♂️
its showing an accurate and deep understanding; great perceptive. 💡
Muito obrigado for all the insightful information.. 🤝
Live it alone that way we don't destroy it.
No we can't. We need those minerals.
@@The_Revolutionist We can obtain those same minerals elsewhere, from our electronic waste for example.
Not likely they would share information that is going to obstruct their corporate interests...there are so many examples already of corporate covering up, misleading, paying off scientists/professionals to support their activities.
This so cool!
Thanks James Cameroon.
Just wondering have you deleted all the weekly audios?
Everyone talking about space mining like launching a rocket into space is a completely green endeavour...
most resources mined in space will probably be more useful in space than on Earth
For example, resources and water mined and extracted from the moon can help future moon colonies/bases become more self-sufficient
seriously, this video aims at justifying why deep sea mining should be supported by ignoring the underlying threat of such.
There is no threat.
Another valuable option is to invest in developing batteries and electronics that do not require metals. Google for organic photovoltaics and organic batteries.
Trash in water, trash on land, junk in cosmos and now this...
We should turn to the ASTEROID belt for our future mining needs not planet Earth. We need more investment into companies that are looking into asteroid mining.
09:17 note the resignation in her voice when she explains her role as a scientist.... How futile it is trying to persuade corporations and broader society in general to save these ecosystems in the face of entrenched consumerism and capitalism. From birth we are told that it's the only way.... but what if that's not actually true?
That's where you say a NO!
Give it a few years, and I am sure America will decide it needs some democracy. XD
No, half the companies will be American anyway
The funny thing about this we may not realize until its too late is that this will only make the climate crisis so much worse. The bacteria and organisms are extremely crucial to the whole foodchain in the ocean. Everything relies on these organisms in one way or another and the ripples caused by this will stretch much wider than we may foresee. If we think corals are having a hard time now, wait till the substrate they rely on is disturbed. And they calculated something like 1 trillion different corals are out in the sea. A majority of which convert co2 into oxygen through photosynthesis. So think about what happens if we were to disrupt corals on a large scale. The amounts of oxygen could decrease very dramatically and corals are very sensitive organisms. I think we need to give our heads a shake and really look into other techologies or even further advancing fossil fuels and finding ways to lower carbon emissions or even find a way to remove carbon dioxide from the air or from polluting sources directly. I've worked in the oil and gas industry in Canada. We have some of the most environmentally friendly approaches to getting oil and gas in the world. I think if we educate other countries on how to do things similarly we could continue on for a very long time without having to worry too much. I think we also need to do something about china. I dont know what and I dont know how but we as humans need to ensure pollution in highly populated areas are down to absolute minimums. We also need to help 3rd world countries and educate them about the environmentally responsible ways of doing things and we need to figure out a way for stricter regulations upon those countries. Even if its some kind of auditing system where 1st world countries send out people to write reports about how their industies operate in environmental aspects and then charge massive tariffs when they want to export or import goods according to their audit scores. I think we need big changes to make the world a healthier place but mining the ocean isn't one of them.
This sounds like its an ad for someone
Mining companies should be responsible to find, record, and provide habitat to marine life where they plan to mine
I agree, but that would be costly. So more likely they'd just say "we didn't find anything" and bulldoze the coral reef.
@@ryancaldwell5377
That's why Government needs to take over.
@@The_Revolutionist big corporation literally control the government. They will do nothing. Pay them and they will remain silent.
The people complaining about deep sea mining are the same ones that drive Teslas and have phones which require these metals. If you are opposed to this, then don't use a battery EVER!
Were going to disrupt biological chain of the ocean and really mess up the sea
Clever words! Protect a biggest form of life on Our Planet - Deal Sea!
Ever notice how these videos ignore the catastrophic pollution that would result from deep sea mining? On land the pollution is typically confined to the surrounding area (including the groundwater). In the ocean those pollutants are free to circle the globe via ocean currents. Just imagine the toxicity generated from mining rare earth minerals and other metals underwater.
If you're concerned about Climate Change: then protecting the world's oceans should be your #1 concern. Most of the oxygen in our atmosphere isn't generated by trees but by phytoplankton, which generate 80% of the world's oxygen. Massive die-offs caused by undersea pollution would be cataclysmic.
Asteroid mining?
The main question is who has title and claim to the ocean floor?
The earth does not belong to human being alone, certainly not the owners/share holders of mining company. Please consider the impact and consequences. Do not make decisions based on money and greed. If not for other species, consider our own future, your son and daughter’s future. I think sea mining looks like a treasure box but it is a Pandora’s box.
Walter Bagehot was The Economist editor.
That's exactly why we have "Precautionary Principle"! If we're not able to measure the potential consequences, then most probably we shouldn't be doing it.
what an interesting video. and this is a much more nuanced topic if you think about it. On one end- the planet is on fire and we need to do something about it-NOW. On the other hand we risk hurting the oceans. If the planet dies the deep sea may die with it anyway (unless the aliens down there can protect themselves from our humans'-nonsense). But with so much resource under the sea- why can't we just mine only what we need for the clean energy so badly needed. Yes, we'll hurt the ocean and potentially lose species we never even knew existed, but if we take only what we need we can limit the impact on the deep sea. It's no use to be moralistic and polar on this topic. We urgently need innovative solutions to fix a problem that took a century or more to create- but now needs to be fixed in a matter of several years.
The metals in electric cars make them anything but green taking in to account the mining damage etc, now they want to destroy the oceans, somethings really should be off limits .
I scrolled down to the comment section as soon as I heard "with the help of Isis" LOL xD
Its indeed a dilemma. We r able to watch UA-cam bcuz of these minerals, but we gotta protect the nature as well.....
We know this. What stops us from protecting our environment? Stupidity or greed?
Did mining coal stop us chopping down forests for wood? Did moving to cities stop us destroying the countryside? Has high-yield agriculture led us to leave more land to nature? It's the Jevons paradox. More efficient production just means more consumption.
umm super rare and renewable don't work in the same sentence. totally clean energy except the panels and batteries count as toxic waste when they're old
Don’t be babies, it’s better then mining on the land.
The U.S. elections seems to have had a positive effect of risk sentiment, driving traders away big time from the U.S. dollar. Appreciations to Anmol Singh, NYSE day trader.
Soo a lot of people are disagreeing with this but if you think about it.. the microbes in the deep sea do not work well with the microbes on earth's surface, they have a totally different way of living life down there that cannot affect us directly, but it CAN maybe give us answers we always wonder about like maybe something in the deep sea can be the cure to cancer or help us in a new way of renewable enery. I mean we've been mining oil for hundreds of years now, why not try the deep ocean if it doesn't directly interfere with us..? Plus only 5% of the ocean has been discovered.. many people are worried about deep sea life but do you really care about deep sea life, especially if it doesn't directly affect you? I feel like we need to stop discovering outer space and put more research into the deep sea because it has already shown to provide us with more answers that can benefit us in the future than outer space.
*_...What could go wrong?_*
It will not be profitable until there are resources available on land. I'm not buying any share until it's cost effective .
Overuse of antibiotics is making antibiotic resistance a huge problem, so lets find even stronger antibiotics? That's the main argument for why we shouldn't attempt to reduce the environmental impact of mining on land? It's a shame The Economist failed to represent both sides of the impact of deep sea mining against the decision to continue as we have without it. This is more tantamount to a hit piece than actual journalism.
How to ensure low impact sustainable development?
Clipperton or “La isla de la pasión” was a Mexican island unjustly lost by a resolution of an Italian nobleman. Now they discovered the biggest reserves of cobalt in the world there.
I’m not against the liberty of the sea and the liberal ideology but it has caused a lot of damage to certain country’s like Mexico (Texas, California, New Mexico, etc)
OCEAN RESOURCES
Problems of developing ocean resources and ways to solve them
Progress in the field of science and technology has made it possible to significantly expand the scope and scale of using the resources and space of the World Ocean.
Our economic system is the opposite of "economy." A tree is worth more if you cut it down. Every blade of grass is for sale. No more. The system has got to go now!
When has mining ever helped the environment?
Yet you own a phone.....
Hoping one day that earth is a place where human no longer exist.
Possibilities and reality are two completely different things. Is it possible to mine sustainably while being environmentally friendly? yes. Is that the reality, no, why? cooperate greed. These companies will always put business interest in making the most money possible at the lowest cost above the environment.
MINE THE OCEAN!!!!
If you are looking for a way to help the environment you can use ecosia they are a search engine that plants trees
Before thinking of mining the ocean floor, we need sustainable human colonies at least 1 on the surface of the ocean and then 1 on the ocean floor.
Interesting
Heck, by the end of this decade, only the planet's core will be the last remaining thing we haven't messed (that much, at least) with...
Typical of selfish governments and corporations; fix a visible issue in a way that doesn't require people to change their destructive lifestyles, while leaving unnoticeable destruction behind.
Mining the seafloor. What could go wrong?
Please let's not take that direction.
Can we get floating city states please? :)
The end of our beautiful world ☹
And the beginning of a new one even more beautiful than ever! 🙃
@@The_Revolutionist Be careful what you wish for...
...so there we have it...clean air or food
Pretty sure we can get all the rare earth minerals we need on land.
The Economist can you put subtitles in spanish?
These companies won’t clean up trash at the surface of the waters....... but want to mine 🧐
Mine space, plenty of resources out there
"Land mining causes severe environmental problems". Can you imagine the damage deep sea mining can cause? Is this even legal?
Depth of Mariana trench is 11034 in meters not in kn
Oceans Protectors? More like New business expedition.
I guess the video can and SHOULD be titled: what we can ultimately benefit from mining the deep sea after using all the on-land resources. Or sth like that. I admit it was quite misleading
There is 27000 life forms on this planet whether it be in the sea or above it.
.