Scientists Warn Against Mass Industrialization of Deep Sea

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2014/02/17-1



Deep sea dwellers will soon face massive industrialization of their ocean ecosystems.

Scientists Warn Against Mass Industrialization of Deep Sea
- Lauren McCauley, staff writer
Published on Monday, February 17, 2014 by Common Dreams

Deep sea ecosystems are under threat of mass industrialization, warned a panel of scientists on Sunday.

Speaking at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Chicago, the scientists warned that without international cooperation with a focus on "deep-ocean stewardship," deep sea mining will follow the destructive examples set by commercial fishing and offshore fossil fuel operations.

Vast tracts of deep seabed are already being leased by commercial mining operations, said panelist Professor Lisa Levin, who heads the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Levin told the conference that the surge in demand for consumer devices, such as portable electronics and batteries for hybrid vehicles, is pushing mining companies to expand their operations to the ocean floor to seek out hard-to-find rare earth elements such as nickel, cobalt, manganese and copper.