Deep sea mining

[potatolord]

There are proposals to mine the deep sea bed for various minerals. Exploration license have been granted. There is a wiki article on deep sea mining here:

Deep sea mining - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Much will be carried out in international waters, and oversight will be difficult owing to the difficulties of monitoring.

Personally, I think this will be a free for all, with little understanding of the long-term impact. I think there should be a long moratorium while research is carried out.

Any views?

 

[MoNkeE]

I’ve seen enough monster movies to see where this is going…

 

[Diddums x]

Be funny to see how they **** up the planet's oceans and kill one of our primary food sources.

But profit tho ye

 

[danlightbulb]

The ocean is massive, can't see there will be much impact of a handful of operators trying to extract some minerals from deep down.

 

[200sols]

Just more destruction of the natural world. Money will triumph over anything else as usual.

 

[danlightbulb]

Just more destruction of the natural world. Money will triumph over anything else as usual.

You could see it as destruction but really it's just change, change from one configuration to another.

 

[Diddums x]

The ocean is massive, can't see there will be much impact of a handful of operators trying to extract some minerals from deep down.

Please tell me I don't actually have to explain how stupid this statement is.

 

[200sols]

You could see it as destruction but really it's just change, change from one configuration to another.

Mindboggling the way you think sometimes.

 

[SpellowHouse]

Be funny to see how they **** up the planet's oceans and kill one of our primary food sources.

But profit tho ye

The greatest weakness of mankind is selfishness. We don't care what we do to other, or even what we do to our children's future.

 

[Kenai]

Please tell me I don't actually have to explain how stupid this statement is.

Remember you're talking to the man who doesn't consider the value of human life to be an 'objective concern', what chance does the environment have, especially when it's a bit you can't even see?

 

[danlightbulb]

Mindboggling the way you think sometimes.

These things don't really matter. So we destroy our environment, so what? The planet will still be here, life in some form will still be here long after we have gone. It may not be humans or whales but something will take its place.

So unless we're all going to go back to a traditional subsistence lifestyle we need the raw materials.

If some companies start mining the deep sea and something goes wrong, the likely worst case is some localised pollution that lasts a few years. Maybe some silt is stirred up and finds it's way to the coast somewhere. Yeah it will be all over the news or whatever but so would a volcano eruption that destroys a forest.

These things are insignificant on the scale of the lifespan of the planet.

 

[Efour]

Dredging up millions tons of **** and 1000s of square kilometers being strip mined

Hmmm!

Hopefully it wont release millions of years of locked in nasty gaseous compounds into the sea and change it on a larger scale.
Hey ho tho, bad day to be a transparent, eyeless, boneless jelly, fish, blob.

 

[Raymond Lin]

These things don't really matter. So we destroy our environment, so what? The planet will still be here, life in some form will still be here long after we have gone. It may not be humans or whales but something will take its place.

So unless we're all going to go back to a traditional subsistence lifestyle we need the raw materials.

If some companies start mining the deep sea and something goes wrong, the likely worst case is some localised pollution that lasts a few years. Maybe some silt is stirred up and finds it's way to the coast somewhere. Yeah it will be all over the news or whatever but so would a volcano eruption that destroys a forest.

These things are insignificant on the scale of the lifespan of the planet.

How about we twist it another way....let's just mess it all up, eventually the sun will die and along with the entire solar system anyway when that happens, so what does it matter what we do now huh?

What about on a smaller scale? The government take away all local services to you, from electricity to bin collection, would that significantly impact your lifespan?

 

[danlightbulb]

Remember the early 90s when it seemed like every year or so there was an oil tanker spill somewhere and the news had images of oil covered birds?

The impact of this today, just 30 years later is what? Zero. The environment has recovered.

Hopefully it wont release millions of years of locked in nasty gaseous compounds into the sea and change it on a larger scale.

Firstly it's extremely unlikely. Secondly, so what if it does? That gaseous compound sitting there could have been released after an earthquake on its own. If it's there its already part of nature and if it comes out then it's just a natural process triggered by an external action.

 

[Raymond Lin]

Remember the early 90s when it seemed like every year or so there was an oil tanker spill somewhere and the news had images of oil covered birds?

The impact of this today, just 30 years later is what? Zero. The environment has recovered.



Firstly it's extremely unlikely. Secondly, so what if it does? That gaseous compound sitting there could have been released after an earthquake on its own. If it's there its already part of nature and if it comes out then it's just a natural process triggered by an external action.

There is a difference between 1 oil spillage with a limited amount (on the tanker) vs a continual, daily extract from an infinite number of companies around the world doing it.

Can you not to the math?

 

[danlightbulb]

I see we're on with the laugh reactions again rather than contributing to the discussion 200sols. Maybe make your point instead of resorting to insults.

 

[danlightbulb]

There is a difference between 1 oil spillage with a limited amount (on the tanker) vs a continual, daily extract from an infinite number of companies around the world doing it.

Can you not to the math?

Clearly it's you who can't math if you think an infinite number of companies will be mining the seabed.

 

[200sols]

I see we're on with the laugh reactions again rather than contributing to the discussion 200sols. Maybe make your point instead of resorting to insults.

What point, you seem to think destruction of the natural world is fine so what is there to add. I think its stupid and im laughing at you because of that.

 

[danlightbulb]

What point, you seem to think destruction of the natural world is fine so what is there to add. I think its stupid and im laughing at you because of that.

It's being blown out of proportion as usual. A few companies mining the seabed is not going to destroy the planet, even if something bad happens. Just need to introduce some regulations and monitoring rather than it being a free for all (which is already the case as licences have to be issued). The chance of anything serious happening is probably similar to being struck by a whopping asteroid.

 

[Raymond Lin]

Clearly it's you who can't math if you think an infinite number of companies will be mining the seabed.

It is definitely more than 1 and definitely more than 1 tanker worth of fuel/minerials they are trying to mine.

The word infinite illustrates that once the door is opened, it will be a LOT....just look at how much mining we do on land...and how long we have done it and what mess it has made. The point is to show that your tanker argument is stupid because that is a fixed amount, whereas there is no limit to how many mines they will have, it certainly isn't 1 and it certainly isn't for a fixed amount of material they are trying to extract.