Key points
- Lead Environmental Scientist Adrian Hellman tells CEO Gerard Barron that environmentalists split into two camps: those opposed to any mining, and those like her who use the ocean but see a need for materials to move away from fossil fuels.
- Hellman compares the reaction to seafloor mining to the early skepticism around electric vehicles, saying both are new industries that can scare people because of how they are perceived environmentally.
- She says the right research and the right amount of work mean seafloor mining does not have to be viewed negatively.
- Hellman says being first to extract nodules from international waters means setting a high precedent, since what happens initially will affect everything that follows.
