You might have seen an email recently from WWF international which says:
A new threat faces our ocean. Deep seabed mining would not only interrupt the intricate rhythm of the ocean, but also threatens generations to come with its impacts. We need to make a stand, to protect the beauty of our seas – together. The deep sea: it’s home to fascinating creatures and stores carbon to help keep our #climate in balance. But some companies see only 💰💰💰. We have to #DefendTheDeep from seabed mining. #DeepSeaMining #ThinkDeeply. There’s a video where you can learn more.
Meanwhile, an Economist editorial says Give nodules the nod arguing that getting nickel (which we need if we are to wean ourselves off oil and gas) from the ocean depths causes much less environmental and other damage than getting it on land. Specifically the article is about nodules on a stretch of seabed in the Pacific Ocean, called the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, which is around 4,000 metres deep, and which holds around 340m tonnes of nickel bound up with cobalt, copper and manganese. Pew has an article on the Zone.
Sounds like a good topic for a senior school eco-club to explore.