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> Doesn’t surface mining also do that? No, surface mining doesn't "suck up and kill seabottom creatures". :) More sympathetically: yes, surface mining can hav
by SECProto 4y ago
> Doesn’t surface mining also do that?
No, surface mining doesn't "suck up and kill seabottom creatures". :)
More sympathetically: yes, surface mining can have habitat loss issues (i.e. land use changes), but the bigger issue erosion and sediment control, the management of which is a major component of any modern mine in a well regulated country. Maybe there are ways to mitigate subsea sediment migration, but they definitely haven't been studied to nearly the same extent as surface issues and mitigations
- eloff 4y agoThe sediment migration was part of what was being studied here, so maybe they will mitigate it somewhat. I’m not super optimistic given our mining record on land. Still the deep ocean is mostly a desert, and it’s massive, so I think we can afford to damage it a little. The alternative is land mining, which is also damaging.