Earth Sustainability: Deep Sea Mining

As society continues to drain the world's precious metals, we are also looking for ways to replenish them, to satisfy a continuous need. The answer to this might lie in the ocean. Currently, there is an estimated 150 trillion dollars worth of precious metals within the sea; these metals are incredibly valuable to many of the world's advancing technologies, including EV cars and batteries. With this, it is evident that ocean and deep-sea mining can be gateways to solving the world's scarce supply and growing demand for precious metals. However, despite the clear benefits of deep-sea mining, there is considerable concern about how deep-sea mining harms ecosystems. 

Deep sea mining aims to retrieve minerals from the seabed, thousands of meters below the surface. These minerals, often found in the shape of nodules, are filled with precious metals like nickel and cobalt. We can utilize underwater machines to travel to the bottom and remove these nodules from the floor. However, it has not been done commercially yet, and there is deep controversy regarding whether or not these precious metals are worth the risk of harming our underwater environment. Those who oppose deep-sea mining believe that, by allowing humans to remove these minerals from the seabed, we risk eliminating the homes of millions of aquatic creatures. This risk is further amplified when we consider that the deep sea is the largest habitat on Earth. Nevertheless, it is my belief that deep-sea mining should be done commercially to improve society. 

The main argument is that there is an incredibly vast amount of precious metals, which would help to reach the ever-growing constant demand; for example, the Clarian Cliperton Zone (a precious mineral deposit underwater), which covers about 1.4% of the ocean floor, has more nickel, cobalt, and manganese than all of the world’s on-land deposits. In addition, current land deposits are slowly running out of their minerals or becoming more challenging to access, which is, in turn, driving prices up and creating supply chain issues, ultimately hindering the industries that rely on these metals, such as the EV and electronic industry. However, by turning towards the ocean, we are given a chance to almost entirely eliminate this threat by matching the growing demand. 

A study by the IEA (International Energy Agency) predicts that,  to meet global climate goals, the world will need to drastically increase the supply of minerals essential for clean energy technologies like electric vehicles and wind turbines. "Today, the data shows a looming mismatch between the world's strengthened climate ambitions and the availability of critical minerals essential to realizing those ambitions," said Faith Birol, the Executive Director of the IEA. From this, it is clear that, to reach our climate goals and ensure we can effectively fight climate change, we will need more resources to complete this task, a void that may be filled by the potential in deep-sea mining. Electric vehicles, which have become crucial in the fight against climate change, exist because of these minerals. By eliminating the fear of running out of resources, we can prioritize finding better solutions to climate change and mass-producing these necessary advancements. 

With such immense benefits, it is no surprise that there are also enormous risks that come with deep-sea mining, so let’s return to the arguments concerning damaged habitats. Animals on the seafloor have learned to coexist with each other under extreme conditions, and it would be unjust and unfair to destroy this delicate balance for our needs. It is crucial that we weigh the pros and cons both on land and under the sea. Much like it does underwater, mining on land lands leads to countless environmental issues, such as deforestation, pollution in soil and bodies of freshwater water, and landscape erosion. However, diverting our attention towards the ocean and instead mining the deep sea lowers the damage done on land. In addition, deep-sea mining is most likely not as environmentally detrimental because it doesn't have nearly as many effects as land mining.

Despite significant fear of the negative impacts of deep-sea mining, it is crucial to us if we want to fight climate change effectively. Nevertheless, there needs to be boundaries and regulations set; some of these boundaries may only give certain countries or private companies a specified amount of mining space or ensure that certain species are not harmed. However, as technology progresses, there will be more and more ways to ensure we can mitigate the adverse effects of deep-sea mining. 

In our current world, we need to prioritize giving the world a better future, even if it means sacrificing a lot; deep-sea mining may be the key to helping provide the world with a more sustainable future. While deep-sea mining brings up many concerns, with the proper boundaries and regulations, we can ensure that it is conducted most beneficially. Thus, with proper precautions and boundaries deep-sea mining can be a good step toward sustainability and resource preservation.