Waiting in the Deep, No. 1

Waiting in the Deep, No. 1 is an exploration of the complicated and entangled issues around deep sea mining. Metals such as nickel, manganese, and cobalt are crucial to battery technology, and thus to climate action as a whole. But the ocean floor is a vibrant and ancient ecosystem that we know very little about. Some organisms living near hydrothermal vents may be almost as old as the Earth itself. What we already know about these organisms is that they are profoundly entangled with, connected to, and contingent upon their environment—as are we.

An alliance of 24 countries oppose deep sea mining, but Norway has recently approved it. The International Seabed Authority (ISA) is supposed to finalize regulations by 2025.