
Technology is transforming the relationship between people and the oceans - kawera
https://www.economist.com/technology-quarterly/2018-03-10/ocean-technology
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sologoub
> This could be big business. James Hein of the United States Geological
> Survey and colleagues estimated in a paper in 2012 that the CCZ holds more
> nickel, cobalt and manganese than all known terrestrial deposits of those
> metals put together

Terrestrial versions of mining for these metals are extremely polluting and
destroy local ecosystems. Fortunately, the pollutants only travel so far
before settling down, unless they get into the water ways. How are they
planning to avoid this pollution in one giant waterway with extremely strong
currents? The article doesn’t say a word about pollution from mining and only
fleeting mention of it with fish farming and monitoring capabilities of
Saildrone.

Instead of trying to mess up more of our home, maybe we should be more focused
on off-world exploration.

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twic
> The article doesn’t say a word about pollution from mining

Yes, it did.

"In order to satisfy the ISA, this new machine does not just have to show it
can harvest nodules; it also has to show that it can do so in an
environmentally sensitive way."

"It will have two drone escorts, one to move ahead of it and one behind. They
will monitor how much silt it disturbs, and will shut down the operation if
necessary."

"Mining minerals on land can require clearing away forests and other
ecosystems in order to gain access, and moving hundreds of millions of tonnes
of rock to get down to the ores. Local and indigenous people have often come
out poorly from the deals made between miners and governments. Deep-sea mining
will probably produce lower grade ores, but it will do so without affecting
human populations."

"It will also deliver those ores straight on to ships which can move them
directly to processing plants on any coast in the world, including those using
solar or wind power, thus reducing the footprint of mineral extraction even
more."

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goatlover
How about we lower our footprint on the oceans going forward? Don't you think
we've polluted, overfished, and altered them enough as it is?

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jpm_sd
If you're interested in helping to solve these problems, we're hiring:

[http://saildrone.com/#Careers](http://saildrone.com/#Careers)

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yosito
Awesome! Are you hiring remote positions, or on-site only?

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jpm_sd
Just on-site, sorry.

