Although actual numbers about how much Europeans are worried about resource scarcity are missing, the EU is more and more worried about resource scarcity with the world's population expanding rapidly. A number of resources are likely to become scarce in the near future up to 2050. Some of the resources that are likely to become scarce according to prominent European discussions and leading edge research are for example: rare earth elements, copper, silicium, oil (including petroleum products) fish stocks, ocean and sea food in general, wood and fresh and drinkable water. At the same time, the rights to use land are almost everywhere fixed and where the rights are not fixed, battles for the rights to use the land are ongoing.
Consequently, a variety of different companies and public agencies are starting to invest and to direct funding into the exploration of mining opportunities in the oceans and seas. In the oceans and seas, it is difficult to maintain an effective control system concerning the use of the ocean floor. Nautilus Minerals - a start up company specializing in exploring resources below the ocean floor - has the goal to develop ocean mines for gold and copper in oceans and seas. Therefore, it is developing and adapting technologies that are already used in ocean mining by oil and gas companies in order to commercially explore the offshore seafloor possibilities to extract copper and gold resources.
If it comes to spills into the environment like for example oil spills as a result of oil mining technology management failures like 2010 in the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, responses by companies and public agencies are more and more incorporating new clean up technologies into their project management cycles. The famous actor Kevin Costner, for example, has founded a company to research and develop new clean up technologies. The result is a oil spill clean up vessel which is a really powerful tool to help clean up the results of oil disasters. BP used Costner's Oil Spill Cleanup Machine in the Gulf of Mexico to clean up the environmental damage. Costner's company develops machines that are able to separate oil from water successfully. The separated oil is stored in storage tanks. The cleaned up water is pumped back into the ocean. It is hoped that this research reduces environmental damage.
It is kind of ironic, that dreams of cleaner oceans and seas are now becoming an industry. But that's the way it is. We are coming from a clean world and envision a clean world for the future. We can achieve this future and benefit from the opportunities for example by adapting and investing into new technological ways to prevent oil spills, biochemical spills and other types of harmful spills in the first place and on the other hand by researching and developing innovative ways to clean up the effects if such spills happen in the oceans and seas. But this may not be enough. Innovative legal, political and regulatory ways on all levels to govern the development in the oceans and seas better are in high demand as well. But how strong is the global political will in the international community to achieve good environmental status in 2020 globally?
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