In Episode 2, we talk with Richard Charter about the Ocean Foundation documentary DEFEND THE DEEP about the pending perils of deep sea mining.

Deep seabed mining (DSM) is a potential commercial industry attempting to mine mineral deposits from the seafloor, in the hopes of extracting commercially valuable minerals such as manganese, copper, cobalt, and nickel. However, this mining is posed to destroy a thriving and interconnected ecosystem that hosts a staggering array of biodiversity: the deep ocean. Questions also remain if the global economy needs these minerals at all: increasing innovation in battery technology and investment in the circular economy are suggesting alternatives to new mineral extraction.

This film was developed by Richard Charter a Senior Fellow at The Ocean Foundation, and produced by ‪@Ecodeo‬.

As the only community foundation for the ocean, The Ocean Foundation’s mission is to improve global ocean health, climate resilience, and the blue economy. We create partnerships to connect all peoples in the communities in which we work to the informational, technical, and financial resources they need to achieve their ocean stewardship goals.

For more information, check out The Ocean Foundation's Deep Seabed Mining resource page (https://oceanfdn.org/deep-seabed-mining/) in their  Knowledge Hub.

Richard is a Senior Fellow with The Ocean Foundation and also serves, separately, as the Director of Friends of Coastal Coordination, a fiscally hosted project of The Ocean Foundation.  He is a specialist in advocacy on ocean protection issues, including marine spatial planning, media techniques to secure conservation outcomes, and preventing and mitigating industrial impacts on ocean ecosystems. As Co-Chair of the National Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Coalition, Richard was involved in initiating and maintaining the twenty-seven-year congressional moratorium on offshore oil and gas leasing which prevented new drilling along the U.S. West Coast, the Atlantic Coast, and Florida’s Gulf Coast, as well as in Alaska’s Bristol Bay. Richard also coordinated the loca

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Scott & Tree Mercer, Co-hosts Mendonoma Whale & Seal Study, Mendocino and Sonoma Coasts

Deep Sea Mining Richard Charter Sr Fellow Ocean Foundation

In this episode, we delve into the controversial and complex world of deep seabed mining. We feature a panel of experts from the Wonderful World Festival in Norway [https://www.wonderfulworld.no/] discussing the environmental, economic, and geopolitical implications of extracting minerals from the ocean floor. Marine Scientists, a documentary filmmaker, mining industry officials debate the need for and consequences from extracting rare earth minerals for renewable energy technologies. Discover the unknowns of the deep sea, the ethical considerations, and the potential impact on future generations. Join us as we explore whether the pursuit of these resources is truly necessary and the role of storytelling in shaping our understanding of the ocean's mysteries.

We start with an introduction by panel moderator, Anders Dunker.

Next are excerpts from a TED Talk by Sandor Mulsow, Marine Geologist from Chile. Also included is the trailer of the documentary film DEEP Rising, which he is featured in.
Sandor Mulsow TED Talk https://youtu.be/tIg1M0b43jQ?si=_SWZ6pZs-S9lSNA1 


Then we feature excerpts from the panel, that can be listened to in its entirety here…
The Deep Sea and the Mining Business: https://youtu.be/qPm1HdyvYaM?si=nw6sSrWN_8DP0A_Y 

For an extended interview and other benefits, become an EcoJustice Radio patron at https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

Anders Dunker [https://www.andersdunker.com/] is a Norwegian writer and philosophical journalist based in Los Angeles and an associate professor at Oslo International School of Philosophy. In contributions across a range of publications, including Le Monde Diplomatique, Ny Tid, and the Los Angeles Review of Books, he writes about nature, technology, social change, and the planetary future. He is the editor of the book series 'Futurum' at Existenz Forlag and a regular contributor and board member in the Norwegian Writers’ Climate Campaign, as well as a collaborator in Technophany – A Journal of Philosophy and Technology. In 2019, he published Rediscovering Earth (Spartacus and O/R books). In 2022, his collection of essays, Thinking on the Planet, was published by Existenz Publishers. Unknown Territory is his third book.


Sandor Mulsow, Marine Geologist, long-time member of the International Seabed Authority, the UN's own body for safeguarding the health of the oceans. He is a professor at Universidad Austral de Chile, and was featured in the documentary film DEEP RISING. [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandor-mulsow-b98a2214/?originalSubdomain=cl] 

Other Members of the panel 

Matthieu Rytz, filmmaker, visual anthropologist, director of the documentary DEEP RISING [https://www.deeprising.com/]


Kaja Lønne Fjærtoft, marine biologist and Global Head of Policy at Deep Sea Mining at WWF Norway


Øystein Bruncell Larsen - COO Loke Marine Minerals of Norway


Rune Høyvik Rosnes,  Seabed Intervention technologist, economist and business developer, Deep C 


Jack Eidt is an urban planner, environmental journalist, and climate organizer, as well as award-winning fiction writer. He is Co-Founder of SoCal 350 Climate Action and Executive Producer of EcoJustice Radio. He writes a column on PBS SoCal called High & Dry [https://www.pbssocal.org/people/high-dry]. He is also Founder and Publisher of WilderUtopia [https://wilderutopia.com], a website dedicated to the question of Earth sustainability, finding society-level solutions to environmental, community, economic, transportation and energy needs.


Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/ 
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Executive Producer and Host: Jack Eidt
Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats
Episode 239

Deep Sea Mining and the Green Transition: Will Marine Ecosystems Survive?

Beneath the waves, in the darkness of the deep ocean, lies one of Earth's last pristine wilderness areas – a place we've barely begun to understand. Now, a high-stakes race is underway to mine valuable minerals from the seafloor, with profound implications for marine ecosystems and our planet's future.

Richard Charter from The Ocean Foundation takes us on an eye-opening journey into the complex world of deep sea mining. He expertly breaks down the three distinct types of extraction threatening different ocean ecosystems: hydrothermal vents with their unique energy-transforming life forms, mineral crusts that form along seamounts, and polymetallic nodules scattered across vast stretches of seafloor. These aren't just minerals – they're living habitats that took millions of years to evolve.

What's particularly alarming is the permanence of any damage we inflict. Charter reveals that test mining tracks created 26 years ago remain perfectly visible today, as if freshly made. "If it took millions of years to evolve these life forms in the sea," he warns, "then we know that for them to come back, first of all they may come back in a different form, and it may take millions of years. This is beyond human scale."

While mining companies frame their work as essential for the green energy transition, providing minerals for electric vehicle batteries and renewable infrastructure, Charter challenges this narrative. He points out that automotive technology is already evolving beyond these specific metals, and effective recycling programs could meet many of our needs without risking irreparable harm to ocean ecosystems. Meanwhile, the deep sea may harbor undiscovered solutions to humanity's greatest challenges, including potential cancer t

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Leigh Anne Lindsey, Producer Sea Storm Studios, The Sea Ranch, North Sonoma Coast

Scott & Tree Mercer, Co-hosts/Producers, Mendonoma Whale & Seal Study, Mendocino and Sonoma Coasts.

Planet Centric Media is Media for a Healthier Planet. Resilient Earth is a project of this 501 (c) (3) non-profit that is developing & producing media to elevate awareness of the interconnectedness of all living things.

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Deep Sea Mining: Promise or Peril? Richard Charter, Sr. Fellow, Ocean Foundation

The Sounds of Our Oceans Are Being Drowned Out by Human Activity - A Talk with Michael Stocker Ocean Conservation Research Founder & Director, Prior to International Conference in Prague on the “Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life”

Ocean Conservation Research Michael Stocker Rising Human-Generated Noise-Impact on Marine Life

Captain Paul Watson speaks with us from Paris about his experiences at the UN Ocean Conference, meetings with global leaders including President Macron, and his continued ocean conservation efforts after his release from a Greenland prison.

• The UN Ocean Conference yielded a major victory with 64 countries ratifying the High Seas Treaty, providing additional legal protection for ocean interventions
• Captain Paul met with French President Macron, the Mayor of Reykjavik, the President of French Polynesia, and Brazil's Environment Minister to discuss marine conservation
• Whaling in Iceland has been paused for three consecutive years, signaling a potential permanent end to the practice as public opinion shifts
• Deep sea mining threatens to create devastating sediment clouds lasting 3-6 years that could suffocate marine life across hundreds of square miles
• Krill overfishing in the Southern Ocean by factory ships from Norway, Japan and Russia is starving penguin and whale populations while producing cheap feed for factory farms
• The Captain Paul Watson Foundation is planning direct interventions against krill fishing operations, creating a new TV series called "Krill Wars" to raise awareness
• Commercial fishing operations globally are sustained by approximately $90 billion in government subsidies, not by actual market profitability
• The foundation's upcoming projects include anti-poaching operations in the Mediterranean, protecting turtles in Mayotte, and opposing seismic testing off Uruguay

Join us in supporting ocean conservation by donating to Resilient Earth Radio and the Captain Paul Watson Foundation to help protect our blue planet. Visit our website or find us on social media to learn how you can contribute.


Beyond the UN Ocean Conference: A Captain's Call to Action - Captain Paul Watson, from Paris

Welcome to RESILIENT EARTH RADIO where we host speakers from the United States and around the world to talk about critical issues facing our planet and the positive actions people are taking. We also let our listeners learn how they can get involved and make a difference. Hosts are Leigh Anne Lindsey, Producer @ Sea Storm Studios and Founder of Planet Centric Media, along with Scott & Tree Mercer, Founders of Mendonoma Whale & Seal Study which gathers scientific data that is distributed to other organizations like NOAA (National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration). A focus of this podcast series are Nature-Based Economies that help rebalance the Earth and raise awareness about the value of whales, elephants, mangroves, seagrass, the deep seas, waterways and forests - our natural world - towards that rebalancing. This addresses the effects of our own human-caused climate change, and what we can do about it - from simple steps to grand gestures! Global experts, citizen scientists, activists, fisher folk, and educators examine and explain ciritical issues facing our planet and actions people are taking to mitigate and rebalance climate. We discuss the critical role of carbon storage, and how it is essential for all life forms on earth.  This awareness could lead to new laws, policies and procedures to help protect these valuable resources, and encourage economies around them to replace the existing exploitation of oceans, forests, and animals.

Taking positive action, and getting people involved, that's our goal.

Production companies / Planet Centric Media Inc., a 501 (c) (3) non-profit, and Sea Storm Studios, Inc. (a media production company). Planet Centric Media is Media for a Healthier Planet. Resilient Earth is a project of this 501 (c) (3) non-profit that is developing & producing media to elevate awareness of the interconnectedness of all living things. Co-produced with Mendonoma Whale & Seal Study.

EcoJustice Radio presents environmental and climate stories from a social justice frame, featuring voices not necessarily heard on mainstream media.

Our purpose is to amplify community voices, broaden the reach of grassroots-based movements, and inspire action. We investigate solutions for social, environmental, and climate issues with an eye to advance human health, steward wild landscapes, and solve the climate crisis across the USA and the world.

Featured weekly on KPFK Los Angeles and KPFT Houston, and found on all major podcast apps. We are nationally syndicated through the Pacifica Network and PRX and heard on public radio stations across the US and downloaded in over 25 countries.

Co-hosts Jack Eidt, Carry Kim, and Jessica Aldridge present a broad range of perspectives: land defenders and water protectors; Indigenous leaders, front/fenceline community spokespeople; youth organizers; ecosystem and land stewards; regenerative farmers and permaculture specialists; spiritual and faith leaders; environmental health advocates and practitioners; documentary filmmakers; climate scientists; and political decision makers.

EcoJustice Radio [http://EcoJusticeRadio.org] is produced by SoCal350.org since 2017. 

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New tracks tagged #deepseamining