February 16, 2014

Deep Ocean Needs Policy, Stewardship Where it Never Existed

Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions

Technological advances have made the extraction of deep sea mineral and precious metal deposits feasible, and the dwindling supply of land-based materials creates compelling economic incentives for deep sea industrialization. But at what cost? “We’re really in the dark when it comes to the ecology of the deep sea," said the Nicholas Institute's Linwood Pendleton. "We know a lot about a few places, but nobody is dealing with the deep sea as a whole, and that lack of general knowledge is a problem for decision-making and policy.”