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A secret on the ocean floor

bbc.co.uk

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Re: A secret on the ocean floor

#11

Post by pasta »

"We’ve drilled the ocean floor for oil and gas, scarred it with trenches for communications cables, poisoned it with old radioactive waste and chemical weapons, and polluted its remotest corners with a blizzard of discarded plastic. So, is mining a step too far?"

"I put that question to Sir David Attenborough at the launch of his series Blue Planet II. When he sees our video of the giant machines being readied in Papua New Guinea, he is aghast. “It’s heartbreaking,” he says."

This sums it up for me. Our greed is sad.

Re: A secret on the ocean floor

#12

Post by JoeAltmaier »

pasta wrote: post #11

"We’ve drilled the ocean floor for oil and gas, scarred it with trenches for communications cables, poisoned it with old radioactive waste and chemical weapons, and polluted its remotest corners with a blizzard of discarded plastic. So, is mining a step too far?" "I put that question to Sir David Attenborough at the launch of his series Blue Planet II. When he sees our video of the giant machines being readied in Pap…

I'm not so sure. What's happened to the ocean floor is a tiny, tiny fraction of what we've done to the land. Its just invisible, which in my mind lets people's imaginations run free. A few cable trenches? We've got two or three crossing the lot my house is on, not to mention 3 billion other people's lots. Mining? This ocean-floor stuff won't be a patch on what the US has done to the southwest, nor what Russia's done in the Arctic. As for landfills, every city, town and berg has one. I can't dig a shovel of dirt from my field without finding a plastic fragment.

So, not to say its all good, but its just so remote from what should be our true concerns.

Re: A secret on the ocean floor

#13

Post by nerdponx »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #12
pasta wrote: post #11

"We’ve drilled the ocean floor for oil and gas, scarred it with trenches for communications cables, poisoned it with old radioactive waste and chemical weapons, and polluted its remotest corners with a blizzard of discarded plastic. So, is mining a step too far?" "I put that question to Sir David Attenborough at the launch of his series Blue Planet II. When he sees our video of the giant machines being readied in Pap…

I'm not so sure. What's happened to the ocean floor is a tiny, tiny fraction of what we've done to the land. Its just invisible, which in my mind lets people's imaginations run free. A few cable trenches? We've got two or three crossing the lot my house is on, not to mention 3 billion other people's lots. Mining? This ocean-floor stuff won't be a patch on what the US has done to the southwest, nor what Russia's done…

But the hydrothermal vents host thriving communities of marine life - snails, worms and shrimp that have evolved to cope with very specific conditions.

In some cases these creatures are extremely rare, which is why the prospect of deep sea mining is highly controversial.

You can't say the same for the earthworms and dandelions harmed by digging a trench in the yard in New England.

Re: A secret on the ocean floor

#14

Post by jacobush »

chatmasta wrote: post #10
binarray2000 wrote: post #4

I wonder, if USIC (US intelligence community) has used billionaires in the 1970s to cover up their secret operations, if they do it today?

I would imagine this is very common. I also wonder if there are "billionaires" who aren't even actual billionaires, just CIA operatives with legends slowly built up around them through the years.

Now you put a thought I just can't get out of my head. Trump?

Re: A secret on the ocean floor

#15

Post by Pigo »

"Bram Murton, a geologist with the UK’s National Oceanography Centre, says that if all the cars on Europe’s roads are electric by 2040, and if they use the same kind of batteries as the Tesla Model 3, that would require 28 times more cobalt than is produced right now."

"At the moment more than 60% of all cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo. For decades allegations of corruption and human rights abuses have swirled around parts of its mining industry."

"And with renewable power like wind and solar being installed at a frantic pace, every turbine and every panel also requires key metals."

I'm always wondering why more people aren't concerned about the production of these materials we need for all the clean energy, electric cars, and more iPhones. Is it just that it's not as bad as the oil production? Or do people really think we'll be mining asteroids in a few years?

Re: A secret on the ocean floor

#16

Post by lawlessone »

jacobush wrote: post #14
chatmasta wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would imagine this is very common. I also wonder if there are "billionaires" who aren't even actual billionaires, just CIA operatives with legends slowly built up around them through the years.

Now you put a thought I just can't get out of my head. Trump?

> Trump

If that's the case it's not going well.

Re: A secret on the ocean floor

#17

Post by tomalpha »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #12
pasta wrote: post #11

"We’ve drilled the ocean floor for oil and gas, scarred it with trenches for communications cables, poisoned it with old radioactive waste and chemical weapons, and polluted its remotest corners with a blizzard of discarded plastic. So, is mining a step too far?" "I put that question to Sir David Attenborough at the launch of his series Blue Planet II. When he sees our video of the giant machines being readied in Pap…

I'm not so sure. What's happened to the ocean floor is a tiny, tiny fraction of what we've done to the land. Its just invisible, which in my mind lets people's imaginations run free. A few cable trenches? We've got two or three crossing the lot my house is on, not to mention 3 billion other people's lots. Mining? This ocean-floor stuff won't be a patch on what the US has done to the southwest, nor what Russia's done…

> I can't dig a shovel of dirt from my field without finding a plastic fragment

This, in the wider environment, whether microbeads in fish or plastic bags in the ocean, is one of the greatest modern tragedies IMHO.

Re: A secret on the ocean floor

#18

Post by phlowbieuq »

Pigo wrote: post #15

"Bram Murton, a geologist with the UK’s National Oceanography Centre, says that if all the cars on Europe’s roads are electric by 2040, and if they use the same kind of batteries as the Tesla Model 3, that would require 28 times more cobalt than is produced right now." "At the moment more than 60% of all cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo. For decades allegations of corruption and human rights abuses…

I'm hardly ever an optimist, but I believe that this kind of situation is exactly what the saying "Necessity is the mother of invention" applies to. I am 100% confident that Elon has an entire team of material scientists at Tesla working on alternatives to these rare materials.

Re: A secret on the ocean floor

#19

Post by Pigo »

phlowbieuq wrote: post #18
Pigo wrote: post #15

"Bram Murton, a geologist with the UK’s National Oceanography Centre, says that if all the cars on Europe’s roads are electric by 2040, and if they use the same kind of batteries as the Tesla Model 3, that would require 28 times more cobalt than is produced right now." "At the moment more than 60% of all cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo. For decades allegations of corruption and human rights abuses…

I'm hardly ever an optimist, but I believe that this kind of situation is exactly what the saying "Necessity is the mother of invention" applies to. I am 100% confident that Elon has an entire team of material scientists at Tesla working on alternatives to these rare materials.

I sure hope so. I'm definitely not against these new technologies. I'm just honestly not that informed on where these materials come from generally, and if there are any reasonable plans to source them better or replace them.

Re: A secret on the ocean floor

#20

Post by codeulike »

Pigo wrote: post #15

"Bram Murton, a geologist with the UK’s National Oceanography Centre, says that if all the cars on Europe’s roads are electric by 2040, and if they use the same kind of batteries as the Tesla Model 3, that would require 28 times more cobalt than is produced right now." "At the moment more than 60% of all cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo. For decades allegations of corruption and human rights abuses…

Here's an in depth analysis of the cobalt situation:

https://techcrunch.com/2017/01/01/no-cobalt-no-tesla/

Tesla are claiming they will only use cobalt mined in North America, the article examines that and find that it might be possible.

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