Author: Michael

Rarotonga is the largest of the Cook Islands’ 15 islands. Tourism currently drives the country’s economy, but deep-sea mining is being touted as a way to diversify the economy and provide much-needed services and amenities. Marty Melville/AFP/GettyImages This article was originally featured on Hakai Magazine, an online publication about science and society in coastal ecosystems. Read more stories like this at hakaimagazine.com. The Cook Islands’ main harbor is a small indentation in the island of Rarotonga, which is the most developed of the nation’s 15 islands, yet still the kind of place where you give directions in mango trees and neighbors, not house…

Read More