Ethical opportunities in deep-sea collection of polymetallic nodules from the Clarion-Clipperton Zone

Infrastructure supporting the transition of human societies from fossil fuels to renewable energy will require hundreds of millions of tons of metals. Polymetallic nodules on the abyssal seabed of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), eastern North Pacific Ocean, could provide them. We focus on ethical considerations and opportunities available to the novel CCZ nodule-collection industry, integrating robust science with strong pillars of social and environmental responsibility. Ethical considerations include harm to sea life and recovery time, but also the value of human life, indigenous rights, rights of nature, animal rights, intrinsic values, and intangible ecosystem services. A "planetary perspective" considers the biosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere, extends beyond mineral extraction to a life-cycle view of impacts, and includes local, national, and global impacts and stakeholders. Stakeholders include direct nodule-collection actors, ocean conservationists, companies, communities, interest groups, nations, and citizens globally, plus counterfactual stakeholders involved with or affected by intensification of terrestrial mining if ocean metals are not used. Nodule collection would harm species and portions of ecosystems, but could have lower life-cycle impacts than terrestrial mining expansion, especially if nodule-metal producers explicitly design for it and stakeholders hold them accountable. Participants across the value chain can elevate the role of ethics in strategic objective setting, engineering design optimization, commitments to stakeholders, democratization of governance, and fostering of circular economies. The International Seabed Authority is called to establish equitable and transparent distribution of royalties and gains, and continue engaging scientists, economists, and experts from all spheres in optimizing deep-sea mineral extraction for humans and nature. Nodule collection presents a unique opportunity for an ambitious reset of ecological norms in a nascent industry. Embracing ethical opportunities can set an example for industrial-scale activities on land and sea, accelerate environmental gains through environmental competition with land ores, and hasten civilization's progress toward a sustainable future. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2022;18:634-654. © 2021 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).

An index to assess the health and benefits of the global ocean

The ocean plays a critical role in supporting human well-being, from providing food, livelihoods and recreational opportunities to regulating the global climate. Sustainable management aimed at maintaining the flow of a broad range of benefits from the ocean requires a comprehensive and quantitative method to measure and monitor the health of coupled human–ocean systems. We created an index comprising ten diverse public goals for a healthy coupled human–ocean system and calculated the index for every coastal country. Globally, the overall index score was 60 out of 100 (range 36–86), with developed countries generally performing better than developing countries, but with notable exceptions. Only 5% of countries scored higher than 70, whereas 32% scored lower than 50. The index provides a powerful tool to raise public awareness, direct resource management, improve policy and prioritize scientific research.

Lessons from the 2006 Louisiana health and population survey

The 2005 hurricane season caused extensive damage and induced a mass migration of approximately 1.1 million people from southern Louisiana in the United States. Current and accurate estimates of population size and demographics and an assessment of the critical needs for public services were required to guide recovery efforts. Since forecasts using pre-hurricane data may produce inaccurate estimates of the post-hurricane population, a household survey in 18 hurricane-affected parishes was conducted to provide timely and credible information on the size of these populations, their demographics and their condition. This paper describes the methods used, the challenges encountered, and the key factors for successful implementation. This post-disaster survey was unique because it identified the needs of the people in the affected parishes and quantified the number of people with these needs. Consequently, this survey established new population and health indicator baselines that otherwise would have not been available to guide the relief and recovery efforts in southern Louisiana.

Southern Hemisphere humpback whales wintering off Central America: insights from water temperature into the longest mammalian migration

We report on a wintering area off the Pacific coast of Central America for humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) migrating from feeding areas off Antarctica. We document seven individuals, including a mother/calf pair, that made this migration (approx. 8300km), the longest movement undertaken by any mammal. Whales were observed as far north as 11 degrees N off Costa Rica, in an area also used by a boreal population during the opposite winter season, resulting in unique spatial overlap between Northern and Southern Hemisphere populations. The occurrence of such a northerly wintering area is coincident with the development of an equatorial tongue of cold water in the eastern South Pacific, a pattern that is repeated in the eastern South Atlantic. A survey of location and water temperature at the wintering areas worldwide indicates that they are found in warm waters (21.1-28.3 degrees C), irrespective of latitude. We contend that while availability of suitable reproductive habitat in the wintering areas is important at the fine scale, water temperature influences whale distribution at the basin scale. Calf development in warm water may lead to larger adult size and increased reproductive success, a strategy that supports the energy conservation hypothesis as a reason for migration.

Hector's Dolphin Cephalorhynchus hectori calf mortalities may indicate new risks from boat traffic and habituation

Two Hector's Dolphin calves Cephalorhynchus hectori were killed by probable boat collision in 1999, indicating that boat strikes may pose more of a threat to the species than previously thought. When discovered, one dead calf was still tended by its mother. After recovery, both animals were necropsied with trauma from boat strikes as the most likely cause of death. These deaths are discussed in the context of increasing human contact with Hector's Dolphins in Akaroa Harbour, and risks to the dolphins caused by this habituation.

Nonspecific airway hyperresponsiveness in HIV disease. Pulmonary Complications of HIV Infection Study Group

OBJECTIVES

HIV disease is frequently complicated by episodic acute bronchitis, suggesting the presence of chronic bronchial inflammation. To further examine this concept, we investigated the possible association of nonspecific airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) and HIV disease.

DESIGN

Methacholine inhalation challenge studies were performed on 66 HIV-seropositive and 8 HIV-seronegative members of the Pulmonary Complications of HIV Infection Study Cohort. AHR was defined as 20% or more decline in FEV1 from the postdiluent value after inhalation of 125 or less cumulative breath units. The prevalence of AHR in HIV-seropositive cohort members was compared with that in matched control subjects who had undergone methacholine challenge testing for two unrelated studies. Demographic, behavioral, and clinical features in HIV cohort members with and without AHR were contrasted. The relationship between AHR and the occurrence of episodic airway disease or symptoms suggestive of airway disease was examined.

RESULTS

AHR was not more prevalent in HIV-seropositive cohort members than control subjects (19.3% vs 12.9%; p > 0.1). Within the cohort, AHR was detected more frequently in members with than without a history of asthma (60% vs 16%; p < 0.05). A greater proportion with than without AHR had 1 or more episode of pneumonia within 2 years (46% vs 9%; p < 0.01), 1 or more asthma episode during the study period (39% vs 1.9%; p < 0.001), or wheeze noted during clinic visits (62% vs 17%; p < 0.01). The proportion that experienced acute bronchitis did not differ in the two groups.

CONCLUSIONS

This study suggest that HIV-infected persons do not have increased prevalence of nonspecific AHR. In HIV disease, AHR is associated asthma, but not episodic acute bronchitis. Thus, the possibility that airway injury without demonstrable AHR might complicate HIV disease remains.

Population composition of humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae, on Silver Bank, 1984

Between 14 February and 19 March 1984, 19 d were spent observing humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae, on Silver Bank. In total, 317 whales were individually identified from photographs of ventral fluke patterns. Comparison of these photographs with the North Atlantic humpback whale catalogue revealed that 97 of the whales had previously been observed in other areas. Matches were made with all of the major known high-latitude feeding grounds: Greenland (6), Newfoundland – Labrador (43), the Gulf of St. Lawrence (7), and the Gulf of Maine (12). Matches were also made with habitats in the winter range of this population: Bermuda (1), Silver Bank in other years (26), Puerto Rico (18), Virgin Bank (1), and Anguilla Bank (1). Analysis of matches suggests that whales from the various high-latitude feeding stocks mix randomly on Silver Bank. Seven surface-active groups contained whales from different high-latitude feeding stocks, providing the strongest evidence to date for genetic mixing among these stocks. The behavior and composition of surface-active groups are discussed. Overall, the number of whales, calves, and surface-active groups observed during this study confirms the apparently singular importance of Silver Bank to the breeding ecology of western North Atlantic humpback whales.