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Today’s episode is a reprieve from the midterm election. We’ll take your mind off the fate of our democracy for an hour to instead explore the wonders of the deep sea and risks/promise of ocean industrialization. And we’ll be back in a few days with the final episode of this midterm election season, a debrief of election outcomes and what they might mean for the planet and all species who share it.
Today’s episode was recorded live in September during Climate Week NYC, as part of the Science & Society series I’ve curated/hosted with the Science Studios at Pioneer Works for years. The title of the event was “The Ocean Frontier” and the description read:
The clean energy and tech booms are heading offshore: wind farms, deep-sea mining for rare earth minerals, floating solar panels, and even floating data centers cooled by seawater. Beneath the engineering lie thornier questions: who owns a public resource, who profits from it, who governs it, and what happens to the ecosystems in the way?
The ocean holds a key to our climate future—if we act wisely.
For grappling with these BIG topics, our guests are Dr. Diva Amon (Trinidadian deep-sea biologist) and Ben Wolkon (climate investor whom you may remember from the “Investing in our Climate Future 💸” episode back in Season 2).
Dr. Diva Amon is a Caribbean marine biologist dedicated to expanding understanding of the ocean’s least-known ecosystems – the deep ocean and high seas — and how human activities are reshaping these fragile ecosystems. She’s a National Geographic Explorer and TV host, and co-founder and director of SpeSeas, a Caribbean-based non-profit expanding marine science, education, and advocacy. Diva has led submarine expeditions to some of the least-explored places on Earth, authored over 80 scientific publications, and worked with the UN on developing nations’ rights to their water resources.
Ben Wolkon is the founder and CEO of Avarna, a firm focused on commercializing emerging energy and industrial technologies. Previously, he co-founded and co-led the venture capital firm MUUS Climate Partners, backing more than 30 climate-focused companies. Ben started his career as an independent solar energy developer, initially selling solar projects out of his college apartment, and continues to make early bets on climate solutions, including offshore renewable energy infrastructure.
Our conversation covered everything from the environmental impacts of deep sea mining, to ocean governance and the ocean carbon cycle, and even the idea of floating data centers. Plus, our favorite ocean creatures - and one that Diva discovered! From wonder, to worry, and back again, let’s dive in.
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Mentioned in this episode:
About 30% of the carbon that we emit is captured by the ocean, and 90% of the heat we’ve trapped with greenhouse gases.
UN Report: Limiting Overshoot: Navigating exceedance of 1.5°C and pathways toward return (Ayana’s summary)
Electrochemical ocean carbon dioxide removal
Over 70% of the ocean remains unmapped, only 0.001% of the deep seafloor has been seen by humans
About 90% of the animals that we were coming across in the Pacific Ocean, in a place called the Clarion-Clipperton Zone are brand-new species to science.
Pathalassa: company working on floating data center.
BMW, Samsung, Volvo and other major companies have committed to not sourcing minerals from deep sea mining.
Deep sea mining lease sales are scheduled to take place in American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam in November and December, respectively.
Trump’s Day 1 Attacks on the Environment
UN Convention on the Law of the Sea
International Seabed Authority
On Time and Water, by Andri Snær Magnason
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Credits: This episode was produced by Remoy Philip and me (Ayana), with support from Jenisha Shrestha. Original music by Emma Munger. Graphic design by Holly Griffin of Design Hungry, and social media support from Feeling Seen Studio.
Special thanks to Pioneer Works for hosting us. Find previous installments of the Science and Society series and so much more at pioneerworks.org/broadcast.
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GET OUT THE VOTE 🗳️
It's Election Day 2026. In 2024, 11.2 million (million!) environmentalists didn’t vote. So, TODAY we’re gonna call and remind them. Join me and Environmental Voter Project for the phone banking of the midterm election! RSVP at environmentalvoter.org/get-invovled
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