SEAS Fellowship Programme UiB

To avoid penalties and unexpected service disruptions, remember to follow us on Instagram!😍😁

SEASing all the way to the top of the mountains!😍 Some SEAS fellows are also... mountain fellows🥾 Take a look at these above the clouds adventures from the last weeks from Ed, Gillian and Aiste⛅

Who wore it better?🧐

In the ongoing social media battle of vs the , who wore it better: Jennifer Lopez (left) or Aeolidiella glauca (right)?👗

Who is Aeolidiella glauca, you say? Well, it is just one of the many famous sea slugs in Norway. As you see, they are a serious competition when it comes to glamour and style!💥



Follow us on Instagram for more!😍

Have you enjoyed the conference? We did!

Here is SEAS Aistė, talking during the Day Zero opening plenary. About what? !

Here are 3 riddles she presented to the audience:

1. Who needs deep-sea mining? The consumer is on the spot -- we are told we, the , need it because of the growing demand for . Do we need it? The growing demand is partially a myth, which is based on another myth of free choice. Why do I say so? Demand growth is growth nudged through and government policies. If the demands were based on natural human needs -- we would mainly spend money on shelter and food. So, what are our future needs? What are the alternatives for minerals, technology, and consumption?

2. Problem shifting – what seems like a solution today, might become a new problem tomorrow. The current, irreversible pressures in the Arctic, where deep-sea mining might happen, include (PFAS) in the Arctic ice, atlantification (warming waters push fisheries north), Ocean , (rising pH levels), and coastal browning, among many others. We do not know how these pressures interact and what new industrial activities like extracting non-renewable materials from the deep sea might bring to the list of pressures.

3. We are promised that deep-sea mining decisions are based on . But what are science-based decisions? The conference theme this year is “The role of universities in transformative change”. So, here is a word to think about: academicwashing. It operates in similar ways to – it is the use of university collaborations to imply that things are safe or supported by scientists. But it is not so. For example, the opening for deep-sea mining in was seen as irresponsible and shocking among many scientists. It is not scientists, it is politicians who make the final decision, based on… who knows?

Do you agree or disagree? What are other important things to discuss?