Jonny AxelssonBy "entirely new" I presume #deepSeaMining. There are two approaches that will cause long-term harm:
1. Stay away from the sea bed!
2. Klondyke! All is up for grabs!
Problem with (1) is that is all but guarantees (2). #UNCLOS and international law give minimal protection.
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(What happens with wild fish stock is good enough example. Tragedy of commons.)
There is a third way: approach with caution.
We know virtually nothing about the deep sea bed, nor how to mine carefully and sustainable. 5-10 years from now we might, or learn we will need another 5-10 years.
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But we will learn nothing from turning the sea bed to a forbidden zone.
Renewables greatly reduces need for resource extraction, but not for a long time down to zero.
Maybe we can extract from sea with less harm than on land, or maybe it will cause horrible damage.
We don't know, but should.