OTOH death by a thousand paper cuts is a thing. And frankly, that the exploitation could yield Japan's demand for 75 and 11 years only appears to be a 'long tim

OTOH death by a thousand paper cuts is a thing. And frankly, that the exploitation could yield Japan's demand for 75 and 11 years only appears to be a 'long time' for types who don't see beyond quarterly bottom lines. It's one (high-output) country of 200, and we're talking about a decade and less than a century. How long until the fauna and flora of the seabed have recovered? One must also take into account that extraction will likely mean vast amounts of sands being upset, something that should almost never occur in the deep ocean except in case of an earthquake and also something that may affect areas far beyond the field proper.