The Race to Rock Bottom
By: Tej Patel
When you think of the bottom of the ocean, if ever (fairly unlikely), you may picture a very vast area of smooth sand spread out over the sea floor. However, this perfect picture is the farthest from the truth. In actuality, the sea floor is extremely concave and convex, comprising of sharp protrusions as well as deep cut-offs. The landscape varies greatly as there are underwater mountains as well as canyons and valleys, showing the very unique nature of this mostly unexplored expanse. One of the most well known of these land formations is the basin found in the Pacific Ocean: the Mariana Trench. Not to deviate too much from this blog's main idea, but I thought including this natural formation would give just some perspective on how unique and extensive the ocean really is.
These amazing, naturally occurring formations are not only valuable in looks; in fact, they hold some of the most important minerals to us in abundance, which is why recently, some of the world's largest mining superpowers have begun to mine underwater. If these mining companies get a hold of international waters for their capitalist adventures, then they will have amassed more than half of the global seafloor, which holds more valuable minerals than all of the continents combined.
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| (The areas in dark blue are international waters) |
So what can we do? For starters, it is important to educate and understand the importance and vulnerable nature surrounding these deep sea environments. This would in turn help regulate the environmental impacts of this seemingly inevitable process of mineral extraction from the ocean floor. Although it may seem that we are just individual people, there is a larger force working to limit these environmental effects known as the ISA (International Seabed Authority). However, we can't simply rely on these major corporations and associations to do what we know needs to be done. Just like with almost any environmental problem that comes our way, the best method to ensure that it has no drastic impacts is to encourage reduction, recycling, and reusing of products. In this case, specifically, these three things would immensely help decrease the demand for raw materials from the ocean floor, saving countless organisms and thousands of miles of sea floor.
What emotions arise when thinking about the mining companies and their desire for sea floor mining permission?
Have you ever considered how unique and diverse our oceans are?
Are there any practical ways to make a change in this worsening situation as day-to-day citizens?
28 comments:
Frustration usually arises when I think that human greed has no limitations. It is our responsibility to take care of the Earth since it does so much for us, but we keep on harming it regardless. Usually, economic interest triumphs any morality concerning nature. I have wondered about the diversity of oceans; however, I personally think that I am unable to genuinely grasp the magnitude of how truly diverse our oceans are just because it is that immense. As a typical citizen, I should understand how to recycle properly and be aware of how important it is to take care of nature because humans cannot continue to survive if nature is not sustained.
I usually think of sadness and and helplessness when I think of the sea floor mining because the condition will continue to worsen because people are not willing to give up their companies sources and think too much about getting ahead economically versus environmentally. I usually think that the ocean floor is very unique and diverse and I believe that there are many species and organisms that are on the ocean floor that we have not even discovered yet. Since the ecosystem there is very different from the ocean near the surface, the organisms have to be more diverse and live a different way of life. I think that it is important as day to day citizens to recycle and take care of the environment that provides us with all of this diversity. Although many citizens believe that they know how to recycle properly and do not think they are causing that much harm to the environment, if everyone keeps this mentality, it will eventually all build up. However, if we all make changes and learn how to recycle properly, then all the small changes as day to day citizens will build up for a positive cause and save our environment and the diversity that we have been provided with, such as the immense diversity on the ocean floor.
I can definitley see why large corporations would want to drill at the bottom of the ocean, because it is the same as finding miles and miles of untouched land above sea level. All that rich land that has been untouched tempts big organizations, but I don’t believe that they should drill and disturb the sea floor. Due to it being possibly the only part of the earth that has for the most part no major anthropogenic activities occurring. I have actually realized the incredible biodiversity in our oceans because I have watched a lot of discovery documentaries of the ocean floor and even the whole ocean. Coral reefs all the way to the sea floor, the ocean is like a complete other world on Earth that is being more and more in harm due to the daily increase of anthropogenic activity. I think helping the ocean is slightly out of our reach because we cant really get in the way of theses huge power organizations from doing what they want. Humanity would need the government to intervine with the matter and put an end to their drilling before they can not take back all what they have done to the ocean.
I usually get very upset when I hear about the sea floor mining because the human has no respect for the world. I’ve sometimes think about the diversity of ocean, but never deeply thought about it because it’s very different. Also because the dry land is different from the ocean so there are different types of organism that have lived differently from us. If people gathered up and did some recycling, reuse, and reducing, than our world would change day by day. People also need to think more about how they are harming it. We just think about helping it world, but in reality sometimes when we think we are helping, we are actually just harming it even more
The main emotion that I feel when hearing about the mining of the deep sea floor is concern. I have seen what mining has done to land above the sea, and I can only imagine that it will do the same or maybe even worse to the ocean floor. The ocean is a very important reservoir for the Earth, so if it is destroyed, we will soon run out of important resources. I feel that many people do not realize the importance of conserving our environment. Instead, they mine it for resources for their own profit. I think it is selfish that many people refuse to abide by regulations and rules set to protect the environment and continue to degrade the earth for their own benefit. Before reading this blog, I never really thought of the oceans as being unique and different. I pretty much thought that all of the oceans looked the same. Now I know that they all have unique structures with different valleys and mountain ranges deep in the sea. As stated in the blog, day-to-day citizens can help this situation by continuing to recycle and reuse resources that are provided through mining. By doing this, we will reduce the amount of mining needed in order to acquire resources. We can also make the world more aware of the issue of mining underwater by telling others and using social media.
The type of emotion that arises when thinking about the mining companies and their desire for sea floor mining permission is being concerned and worried. Many things can happen in the ocean like ruptures in the mining area to cause death of those who’ve gotten permission to mine. It does sound awesome that we could find all different kinds of organisms and minerals that we’ve never encountered before but it does bring danger to the miners lives. I’ve never really been fascinated or pay any attention unless a video is shown in class or on tv of sea creatures. Other than that I’ve never considered what the ocean looks like below the sea.
I get frustrated when I hear about mining companies requesting permission to mine the sea floor. I think humans are being selfish and not thinking about the larger effects of what they are doing such as in the past. With the amount of pollution you said they would produce by mining it would be detrimental to the environment and ocean. We need the ocean to survive and if we harm it to a point of no return the human race will suffer. I have learned about the oceans and how unique they are because I also took aquatic science this year. There are so many things we do not know about the ocean and it can be frightening and cool at the same time. I think as day to day citizens we should speak our mind and fight for what is right. Anyone can make a difference and we need to preserve our oceans.
To start, the main emotion I feel is anger and concern due to the grave environmental and societal impacts of seafloor mining. I think understanding what underwater mining does to the surface above ground definitely adds incentive to be upset due to its negative effects. It really is quite amazing how unique and diverse our oceans are. The Great Barrier Reef in Australia is the most environmentally diverse place in the world. Although you would think it'd be the Amazon Rainforest, understanding the diversity and importance of our oceans can be quite shocking. Some practical ways to correct worsening conditions in the ocean are rules/regulations, a spread in information regarding the severity of environmental destruction and issues, and, finally, general sweeps done in the ocean and above ground to clean up the mess.
When thinking about mining companies’ desire to mine in the ocean, I feel anxious and disturbed. Humans are naturally too greedy when they have the opportunity to make lots of money. We always put money as the first priority, regardless of the environmental impacts. With lots of untouched areas in the sea floor, I believe that mining organizations should leave the seas undisturbed. Mining in the diverse oceans can only decrease its biodiversity. One way to make a positive change in this situation is to reuse products. This can lead to a decrease in the demand of raw materials and could save many organisms in the sea.
I feel hopeless when I hear about the mining on the ocean because there is not anything that many of us can do to stop it. We know so little about the bottom of the ocean that it feels wrong to destroy it when we don’t know the full consequences of out actions. Human greed knows no bounds. The ocean is one of the last things that remains unknown on this planet, and big companies shouldn’t destroy it. Instead, they should find alternatives to the things they are mining for and reuse, reduce, and recycle. I think that we should raise awareness to the ocean and its amazing biodiversity and wonder in order to help preserve our oceans.
I feel sad when I think about the fact that we just have to sit there and let companies destroy our planet just for economic gain. If there is one thing we as people need to protect it’s the unknown. The things none of us have had the chance to lay eyes on. I have considered how diverse they are. When I think about just how vast the ocean is I get a little surprised about just how much we haven’t discovered yet. We need to work as people to try and stop businesses from using our oceans and unknown areas as mining areas for money.
I was disheartened when thinking about mining companies desiring sea mining for more profits. We have already greatly damaged our ocean ecosystems, especially coral reefs, so this new mining will cause even more ecosystem destruction. I am amazed at how diverse our oceans are. When I went snorkeling for the first time in Mexico, I was breathless after seeing the ocean’s beauty. On the outside, the ocean was a solitary expanse of blue; underneath the surface, a story of colors and life blossomed before my eyes. I think the best solution for making a change is buying less items. Clothing and cosmetics are made from mined material, so we can reduce the amount we spend on each items each year.
It's hard to think about deep sea floor mining because it's hard to think about pushing our already damaged oceans to the brink. Because this process is so harmful, sadness, anger, and helplessness are all emotions that I feel when thinking more and more about this problem. Our oceans are too unique and diverse, and more than that, the regulation and other climatic benefits they provide help us tremendously, so to mine them would be devastating to us. As day to day citizens, I'm not sure how much we can directly contribute, but we must do our best to support sustainable practices by consuming from sustainable companies, and voting on leaders who will implement policies designed around sustainability.
I have considered how unique and diverse our oceans are. I think it's really interesting that humans have only explored five percent of the ocean. This shows that there is so much to be discovered and that the diversity that we believe the ocean to have is much greater than we think.
It bothers me that companies are unaware of the potential impacts seafloor mining has on our environment. The ocean is already experiencing damage from climate change and sea floor mining is not going to fix this problem; it will only make it worse. I have considered how diverse our oceans are. They consist of many species of organisms which contribute to the biodiversity of the ocean leading to a sustainable environment. The government needs to place strict laws which prohibit the corrupt use of the ocean. The ocean is home to many marine organisms and without it our biodiversity severely goes down. Moreover, citizens should educate others about the negative consequences of sea floor mining.
Wow if I’m being completely honest thinking about all the mining companies trying to get at the ocean floor makes me kinda mad. Like can we keep our hands off of anything? I mean the ocean is the least explored, least understood, and in my opinion, SCARIEST part of the earth, and we can’t even manage to just leave it be. I’ve definitely thought a lot about the diversity of our oceans. I might even say on a list of my interests ocean life comes at a pretty close second to birds! I know way less about oceans though I just think they’re cool. Anyways. I definitely think every one of us can help this crisis by practicing environmentally healthy practices within our own homes and urging governments and corporations to do the same.
Emotions of annoyance come to mind when thinking about the mining companies seeking to mine our international seafloor, despite bringing a lot to human development and economic growth, it is sad to see society greed over what they don't have rather than protecting what we do or the preservation of our oceans. Continuing these mining corporation's desires will bring substantially more harm to our oceans on top of the plastic and other anthropologic changes stated by Tej. In thinking of the ocean's diversity and uniqueness, I have considered how vast it is because of the simple fact that we still have plenty to discover in the ocean. I've also known about a common saying which stated that we know more about the moon than our own ocean. As day-to-day citizens, we can make a change in preventing this situation through organized protests to raise more attention to this, otherwise not largely known about, situation and to encourage and warn the world's governments of the harm such mining can do to the world's oceans.
The emotion that is present is worry. People want the resources that come from mining, but they are also worried about effects of mining. The ocean has many necessities for humans, but society does not think about what will happen to the ocean if we mine too much. People are being selfish and not being conscious of the environment. The ocean is a very unique habitat and loosing that habitat would be a big loss for society. We still haven’t discovered all of the ocean, and if we trash it we never will explore it all. We need to be more conscious of our decisions and preserve the ocean.
I can understand the appeals of wanting to mine into the sea floor and quite frankly the idea of exploring below the sea floor also sounds somewhat interesting. However, from an environmental perspective this does raise a lot of concerns given that current methods of doing so would create a great deal of pollution in the oceans. I do often think about how diverse and unique the ocean is. Being able to explore all that uncharted land beneath the sea has lays been something that has fascinated me. I believe that on my own I would be able to do virtually nothing to prevent mining companies from drilling into the sea floor, it would tale a very large group of people to get these companies to listen.
I am concerned when thinking about mining companies and their intentions for deep sea mining. I think that they need to have more knowledge and more economical friendly machines before starting mining. I have considered how diverse our ocean is before and realize that we still have not explored all of the ocean and there could be countless other species waiting to be found. I think to fix this issue citizens need to start developing ways to explore underwater and should work to more economically friendly machines to be used underwater.
I feel concerned because people are trying to destroy nature for their profits. Oceans are diverse in many forms, such as coral reef. Once people destroy diversity, it will either take a long time to bring it back or stay irreversible. I personally believe that people should think of the cost of nature first rather than being blind by their profits.
I think seafloor mining will lead to many problems that we simply cannot predict and thus, cannot prevent. Even on land, humans fail to be able to accurately predict the environmental response to many human actions; in the ocean, where not all species are identified, mining could devastate the ecosystem. Additionally, the difficult nature of tracking oceanic plate faults under the water can lead to many other dangers like earthquakes. While I understand the importance of such an enterprise, I think it should be entirely avoided or conducted with extreme caution.
It’s really easy to overlook what goes on underwater and what the condition of the sea is. I hardly get to go outside at all, but when thinking about past vacations where I have gone snorkeling, it makes me sad to know that the beauty of the ocean is being destroyed. I feel like the mining companies know exactly what they’re doing but just don’t care. As day to day citizens we can do our research on how to properly recycle things that increase the demand for sea minerals.
It is absolutely stunning to think that so little of the ocean is actually unknown and unexplored. The sheer number of species that are yet to be discovered in the depths of these oceans, residing and surviving in unusual ways due to the geography of the seafloor is insurmountable. I find it appalling, however, that we as humans seem to be prioritizing business over scientific discovery. As ordinary citizens, we should do all that is possible to raise awareness of issues like these, and work to protect the seafloor.
I feel sad about when I think of the extent of human greed for natural resources— we should care for the Earth that has given us so much. Yes, I have thought about how diverse the ocean is because so much is left to be discovered. As citizens, we can do more to work to raise awareness of the issue.
Remote ocean mining is the way toward recovering mineral stores from the remote ocean – the region of the sea underneath 200 m which covers about 65% of the Earth's surface. There is developing enthusiasm for the mineral stores of the remote ocean. This is to a great extent due to draining earthly stores for metals, for example, copper, nickel, aluminum, manganese, zinc, lithium and cobalt, combined with rising interest for these metals to create innovative applications, for example, cell phones and green advances, for example, wind turbines, sun based boards and electric stockpiling batteries. From this, I am typically disturbed at the intention of minining companies and the extraction
I kind of feel mad when I hear about the mining companies and their desire for sea floor mining. I think it is sad that they are to greedy for money and that they choose money over the well being of the planet. I have considered how unique and diverse our oceans are. I think it is fascinating that we barely know anything about out oceans and think that we have an obligation to learn more about it.
I feel sad to know that many companies care more about profits than the death or hundreds of organisms. I have thought about how much biodiversity there is in the ocean. It would be awful that biodiversity be lost for something so temporary. A practical way to help this situation is to elect people who are willing to do something about this issue or take part in petitions related to this event.
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