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Catalytic converters are disappearing. If you\u2019ve had yours stolen, you know that precious and rare earth metals are valuable. But these metals are in great demand for things other than converters, such as batteries for electric cars, wind farms and solar panels.\nWe need rare earth metals to combat climate change, but where to get them? Could we find substitutes?\nOne activity that could be in our future: Deep sea mining. But it\u2019s controversial. Can one company\u2019s plan to mitigate environmental harm help?\nGuests:\nPaul Dauenhauer\xa0-\xa0Professor of chemical engineering and material science at the University of Minnesota and a 2020 MacArthur Fellow\nChris Leighton\xa0-\xa0Distinguished University Teaching Professor, Editor,\xa0Physical Review Materials, Dept. of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota\nRenee Grogan\xa0-\xa0Co-founder and Chief Sustainability Officer, Impossible Mining company\nOriginally aired January 17, 2022\nFeaturing music\xa0by\xa0Dewey Dellay.\xa0\nBig Picture Science is part of the\xa0Airwave Media\xa0podcast network.\xa0Please contact\xa0sales@advertisecast.com\xa0to inquire about advertising on Big Picture Science.\nYou can get early access to ad-free versions of every episode by joining us on\xa0Patreon. Thanks for your support!\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices