Arctic Deep-Seabed Mining: The New Landscape for Global Conflict

As nations move to “Green Economies” and reliance on technology increases, demand for rare earth minerals surges. The South Pacific and the Arctic are the extraction zones. The eight nations that border the Arctic (Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Russia, and the US) are in a race to extract and to preserve as climate change reduces the Arctic’s ice coverage. Desperate for involvement, China has coined the term “near-Arctic state” for a seat at the table. It is a recipe for conflict.

Deep seabed mining, the Arctic, climate change, and competition in this fragile zone are the subjects of my new book, “Brothers.” As a divemaster, I could not help but throw in a little underwater tension of what it is like to dive beneath ice. Stay tuned for the publication date.