What Does a Barbie Pig Have to Do With Seabed Mining?
About this episode
This episode discusses the implications of deep-sea mining and the discovery of new marine species.
Meet the "barbie pig," "gummy squirrel," and "headless chicken monster": These fantastical-sounding nicknames belong to real creatures living in the deep sea—one of the most extreme environments on Earth. And taxonomists, the scientists who discover and name new species, are finding new life in the ocean with every expedition to its depths. In fact, the deep sea makes up 90% of the marine environment, yet recent science suggests we've seen less than 1% of it. But in the same place where a creature such as the barbie pig can survive, there's growing interest in deep-sea mining. Mineral-rich nodules that grow on the seafloor could one day help manufacture products such as cell phones and electric vehicle batteries. But scientists warn that mining could damage critical ecosystems before we fully understand them. In this episode of "After the Fact," Pew expert Julian Jackson explains what seabed mining is and what its consequences could be. We also hear from filmmakers Eleanor Mortimer and Jacob Thomas, whose documentary "How Deep Is Your Love" follows taxonomists as they discover and name new species living at the bottom of the ocean. Disclaimer : Last year, a private mining company…
More episodes of After the Fact
- From Lab to Life: What AI Tells Us About 'Long Covid'
- What's Next for America at 250?
- The Butterfly Effect of Apartment Vacancies
- The Next Generation of Lawmakers: Young, Scrappy, and… Bipartisan?
- When the Electric Grid Goes Down, One Campus Stays Powered
- You're Probably Wrong About Seagrass
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the After the Fact podcast page.