Check out the top stories from the deep, taken from coverage between 27 February – 6 March 2023
The EV revolution brings environmental uncertainty at every turn
Source: Yale Climate Connections
Author: Tim Lydon
Making the transition to cleaner fuels still requires careful planning and restraint to protect our already beleaguered biodiversity and other natural resources.
Mining companies continue to insist that a ‘green energy transition’ demands an increase in mineral mining. Pointing out both the humanitarian and environmental dangers that all mining practices create, Lydon navigates the nuances of a more considered energy transition.
The Case For Criminalizing Ecocide
Source: Inter Press Service
Author: Paul Virgo
[If ecocide were criminalised] It is unlikely that corporations would now be prospecting for deep sea mining sites.
Calls are growing for ecocide (literally translated as ‘the killing of one’s home) to be criminalized. According to a global ‘network of lawyers, diplomats and activists’, criminalizing ecocide “would be a game-changer when it comes to business practices”, de-incentivising destructive practices such as deep-sea mining.
The Mining Industry’s Next Frontier Is Deep, Deep Under the Sea
Source: Wired
Companies are diving to the bottom to scoop up metals essential for our EV-driven future. But how much ocean are we willing to sacrifice?
In what Wired calls the “Achilles’ heel” of the green energy transition, companies such as The Metals Company are capitalising on an increased demand for minerals, and ‘sacrificing’ the ocean to do so.
DEEP TROUBLE: Is deep sea mining inevitable?
Source: Topia
Author: Graeme Green
The race is on to protect the world’s oceans and marine life from the irreversible devastation of deep sea mining – we take a look at what lies beneath with those working to protect it
Topia speaks with Diva Amon, leading deep sea scientist, to get to the truth about the value of the deep sea. Busting the myth that the deep sea is ‘lifeless’, Amon describes a world brimming with biodiversity and potential.
How America plans to break China’s grip on African minerals
Source: The Economist
The Economist explore the geo-political incentives that are feeding the mineral hungry green energy transition. A fight for access to the deep sea is taking place, and its battle grounds are emerging in Africa.
Oceana Canada celebrates commitment to protect B.C. Seamounts
Source: Today in BC
Author: Chadd Cawson
Offshore area 4 times the size of Vancouver Island due to become protected
An area off the coast of British Columbia containing 93% of Canada’s known Seamounts is due to be protected following IMPAC5.
Is our international reputation worth the price of fish?
Source: Stuff
Author: Andrea Vance
Just as heat has come on dairy farmers, palm oil producers, and sugar plantations, consumers are also questioning the true price of fish.
New Zealand is one of the biggest bottom-trawling nations globally, and following expansions of its trawling practices at the recent meeting of SPRFMO, Stuff questions its continuation of this disreputable practice.