The Documentary   /     Assignment: Mining the Pacific – future proofing or fool’s gold?

Description

Climate change is intensifying, sea levels are rising and the very existence of low-lying Pacific Islands is under threat. The Cook Islands, though, has a plan to assure their peoples’ future. Enter deep sea mining, harvesting metallic nodules on the bottom of the sea floor for use in things like electric car batteries and mobile phones. Its supporters say it’s a climate change ‘solution’- a better alternative to mining on land. And one that could make Cook Islanders very rich indeed. Its detractors worry we’re messing with its Moana - or ocean – with no real idea of the impacts. Katy Watson travels to Rarotonga to find out how islanders feel about searching for ‘gold’ on the sea floor.

Subtitle
The Cook Islands and the plan to harvest the bottom of the sea
Duration
1596
Publishing date
2024-12-10 01:30
Link
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0k9f9qx
Contributors
  BBC World Service
author  
Enclosures
http://open.live.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/6/redir/version/2.0/mediaset/audio-nondrm-download-rss-low/proto/http/vpid/p0k9f7xd.mp3
audio/mpeg