Turkey’s president promised Saturday to rescue the Marmara Sea from an outbreak of “sea snot” that is alarming marine biologists and environmentalists.
A huge mass of marine mucilage, a thick, slimy substance made up of compounds released by marine organisms, has bloomed in Turkey's Marmara, as well as in the adjoining Black and Aegean Seas.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said untreated waste dumped into the Marmara Sea and climate change had caused the sea snot bloom. Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city with some 16 million residents, and five other provinces, factories and industrial hubs border the sea.
Marine mucilage has reached unprecedented levels this year in Turkey. It is visible above the water as a slimy gray sheet along the shores of Istanbul and neighboring provinces. Underwater videos showed suffocated coral covered with sea snot.
Erdogan said he instructed the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization to coordinate with relevant institutions, municipalities and universities. Teams are inspecting waste water and solid waste facilities, along with other potential sources of pollution, he said.
“We will save our seas from this mucilage calamity, leading with the Marmara Sea,” Erdogan said. “We must take this step without delay.”
Marine experts say that human waste and industrial pollution is choking Turkey’s seas. They say the rise in water temperatures from climate change is contributing to the problem.
The push to inoculate Americans against the coronavirus is hitting a roadblock: A number of states are reporting they are running out of vaccine.
The Canadian company behind the Keystone XL oil pipeline says it has suspended work on the pipeline in in anticipation of incoming U.S. President Joe Biden revoking its permit.
U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams spoke to Cheddar about the need to speed up the vaccination process as more mutated variants of the novel coronavirus present themselves.
Cheddar explains the meteorological phenomenon called the jet stream.
The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus has eclipsed 400,000 in the waning hours in office for President Donald Trump, whose handling of the crisis has been judged by public health experts to be a singular failure.
President-elect Joe Biden has tapped Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine to be his assistant secretary of health, leaving her poised to become the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the Senate.
The History Hit TV catalogue features an impressive library of history documentaries, interviews, podcasts and more.
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
State and federal wildlife officials are investigating reports of a manatee found with “Trump” drawn on its back in a Florida river.
The global death toll from COVID-19 has topped 2 million. It crossed the threshold on Friday, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.
