Massive waves of toxic seaweed inundate Yucatan Peninsula beaches

It is the biggest algae bloom in the world: a 5,000-mile mass of seaweed stretching from Africa to the Caribbean. Across the Yucatan Peninsula, massive waves of the growth, called sargassum, are washing up on beaches day after day, and scientists are trying to figure out why. Jeff Glor reports.
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[@chuckhole]

So the seaweed is thriving on the stuff we shouldn't have put in the ocean. And we want to stop it? Insanity rules humanity.

[@whackamolechamp]

It's like the ocean is vomiting this up and trying to put the toxins back where they came from.

Greed and fear rule humanity.

[@ecuadorexpat8558]

Humans need to be wiped off the face of the Earth if this Planet wants to survive !

[@christopherschlacter4953]

@ Sad, but incredibly true.

[@24June91]

@ Only leftists like yourself are ruled by fear and greed.

[@rab6453]

man has always been his biggest problem.

[@theoldschooldiva374]

Humans have always been....

[@tribeofjosepht.i.community9977]

Greedy corporations are the problem along with the corrupted government corporations .

[@suzanneforasiepi3942]

​@@tribeofjosepht.i.community9977 global warming and climate change preach brother or sister 🙌👍💯

[@soylentgreen9492]

Coincidence that the Earth core stopped moving the same time the bloom?

[@moody_reckless6077]

We’re all gonna die. The grass hoppers went to Vegas.

[@MrRedScorpion1]

It's washing ashore in West Palm Beach now.

[@silvermist9644]

😂🤣😂

[@suntoyfull64]

There has got to be a good use for it. It’s organic plant material and can be converted into fuel, fertilizer or used as a building material.

[@motube5]

We shall try to turn it into a source of methane like in marshes or landfill! But presence of lead and mercury like substance need to be addressed. Other option could be to load it on ships, take it back (and with some sort of tying to weights like rocks) and sink it where the ocean is deepest. I don’t if it could be turned into fertiliser or garden mulch etc.

[@susiea1419]

My thoughts exactly. Our ancestors used it for fertiliser and many still do in the U.K. a fantastic natural resource when the price of fertiliser has sky rocketed

[@NBflame]

Food, ecosystem, fertilizer, paper, beauty product ingredient, ect. Yes, there are many, many, many uses for it.

[@ShakaZoulou77]

@@motube5 Plenty of it sinks when cames the storms, which rushes it underwater a few feet, enough for the pressure expel all air in it.

[@jonbigman9723]

Yes and this could be stopped by going after the companies pouring the fuel on this fire. But what do I know...

[@V0YAG3R]

Yes, companies like Africa, where the map clearly shows it's coming from exclusively. Tras de ladrón, bufón.

[@DrCrabfingers]

Your point is entirely valid.

[@Ryan-jx4vh]

I just left St Thomas a part of the US Virgin Islands and they were hit by it too.

[@unholyanimeguru5836]

Run on sentence.

[@woabeatz9717]

How much cost for trip?

[@missingremote4388]

3 years ago, still the problem still exists

[@deaconguidry3514]

Nature's filtering, it's not toxic, they just want the locals to think it's toxic. It can be rinsed and turned into compost or put into a container, after a good rinsing, add water and cover container. In a few months you will have some of the best fertilizer you have ever seen. Your plants will grow stronger and bigger than ever before. We are being told there is a shortage of fertilizer? Why...

[@untermench3502]

This is a good example of recycling: Fertilizer grows plants, which people and animals eat, their waste goes into the ocean, the sargassum uses the waste and winds-up on the beach to make more fertilizer.

[@susiea1419]

Well said. Humans are so wasteful!

[@Scottielargo]

I live on an island south of Key West that was recently washed over by Ian. The hurricane washed out a lot of shore line structure, Mangroves, Grape Seed, and Palm trees. I look forward to the arrival of this weed. It helps give the sand on the shoreline the organic matter it needs to regrow these trees especially Mangroves. These trees help protect against storm wash. For a feel good, instead of going to the beach, go to the shoreline and pick some plastic, it's everywhere. After you are done you will feel good. Then tell your neighbor about it.

[@jamesb.9155]

Leaving Brazil to safeguard uniquely valuable land and forest environments is like letting a roulette wheel decide the world's future.

[@iammelvadixon5164]

I’m in Miami Beach fl right now and there are massive amounts of it washed up on shore right now!!!

[@GWills-ys6rd]

The world has lost the battle with Sargassum. They may be able to contain it, but you can't escape the smell.

[@ShakaZoulou77]

I think Nature doesn't care about smell, neither the living organism thriving on it. Nature found an away to capture wasted fertilizers and CO2, without the need of carbon taxes.

[@GWills-ys6rd]

Tourists need to be aware of this.

[@1980process]

THE PATTERN OF THE SEA WEED IS THE SAME PATH HURRICANES TAKE WHEN THEY HEAD TOWARDS THE U.S . THIS PROBLEM IS 100% MAN MADE

[@ethanallen2889]

Furious Rivera ....😂Hi Stupid! 🖐️

[@AlishaRoseWilson]

Stop yelling

[@MR-op3mo]

Sargassum has arsenic, isn't that unhealthy to make bricks with them to build homes?

[@untermench3502]

Arsenic isn't a problem unless you eat it.

[@silentvoiceinthedark5665]

NO

[@varietasVeritas]

Lead and arsenic? Where did they come from?

[@tjtampa214]

It washed up in Tampa in some high water ditches a couple of years ago. I was shocked when I saw it and didn't know what it was.

[@noneyours3237]

It happens every year on my native island of Martinique in the Caribbean.

[@huverdoose]

The day after Irma, the beach near me in Antigua was buried in the stuff.

[@darthvader5300]

BIOGAS! Harvest the sargassum seaweeds and put them into biogas fermenters to produce methane rich biogas.

[@jaridkeen123]

We have to stop using Fossil Fuels!

[@ChelseaSierraK.]

It's toxic, but you keep grabbing handfuls of it, and walking around in it barefoot.

[@Christina_320]

Chrisara xo Ikr 🙄🙄

[@DrCrabfingers]

It contains heavy metals that are released as it degrades....I guess you wouldn't want to walk around barefoot in it when it was rotten pulp. It also contains a lot of compounds that have been found to be enormously beneficial however.

[@NBflame]

And if you clean it you can eat it. The seaweed is food, an ecosystem, fertilizer, people use it in beauty products, ect. They are saying it is toxic to keep people away from this wonderful resource! Do your own research people!

[@neanderthaloutdoors5299]

There have to be an economically viable use for this.

[@geraldsutton9981]

Somebody ought to try composting it. I hear sea weed has a lot of nitrogen in it.

[@Sweetearth1958]

@@geraldsutton9981 It's full of toxic metals, no you don't want to farm with it.

[@geraldsutton9981]

@@superstopmotionstoryperson2172 Will not burning it, release the toxic metals into the air, to be breathed in...????

[@jamalcole1985]

@@geraldsutton9981 Somebody has a green thumb.

[@alisonstrieker4181]

@@geraldsutton9981 did you not hear the part where there is arsenic and heavy metals in this seaweed?

[@yeezusybarra]

Just wait until mother natural has enough of us all & destroys human kind

[@xs_17gh88]

Satan Ybarra fAkE nEwS

[@bhoney1988]

@@xs_17gh88 it's coming a lot sooner than people realize

[@xs_17gh88]

B Honey you know I was being sarcastic right

[@bhoney1988]

@@xs_17gh88 I'm not sure anyone can tell these days🤣

[@bhoney1988]

@Mag you wouldn't want to live through it

[@LarryCleveland]

I was just there. The stench was nauseating when I got into Playa Del Carmen. I got used to it. We are masters at polluting ourselves out of a home and don't even bat an eye lash.

[@ConservativeBlackMan]

It's not pollution, it's a reoccurring event that's been happening forever. It's the best fertilizer to mix in the soil of your garden and it's not from global warming as some scientists suggest. That's just another drum for climate change. The reason for the smell is all those valuable nutrients that are being released as the decomposition happens. My family has been using sargassum to fertilize our gardens for years and once it's mixed into the soil, the smell disappears. Embrace what you don't understand because it's actually a gift if you use it beneficially.

[@staticbuilds7613]

@@ConservativeBlackMan More like it's been happening for a little over a decade now and gets worst each year, speeding to area where it has never reached before

[@nigelhinds7356]

same problem here in Jamaica

[@brendaseigler3923]

We have it starting up in fresh water & salt water in the U.S.A.

[@brendaseigler3923]

Lake Champlain in New York and Lake Erie in Pa. has the problem as well. It is blue and toxic.

[@ConservativeBlackMan]

Not the same species and that particular algae bloom is from pollution from those Democrat controlled cities in the Northeast. The people who keep blaming it on global warming are the same nasty people who throw their trash on the ground and dump their trash in the rivers. Look at your Liberal run cities and the Truth comes out.

[@micahgelfand8282]

It's not the same thing. But yes toxic algae blooms are an increasing big problem

[@Ish4MyIggans]

Sarcasm is deadly.

[@HappyFunnyCute]

so 2021...pretty much the ocean cleaning up the mess, and giving it back to the perps...that is all

[@Enviotonin85]

Its funny how people throw inland waste into the ocean and ocean waste onto land.

[@DrCrabfingers]

😂

[@crazychicSHENA]

The earth seems sick 😐

[@ShariffTucker]

Crazy Chick Shena What’s your IG?

[@summerrain3251]

Holy shhh that’s a lot of seaweed 🙀

[@Christina_320]

Cataleya Pyro Too bad it’s not Mary J.

[@bowlampar]

Sargassum busting ship is deployed by Mexican Navy to counter its invasion. Wow! Really amazing. 😮

[@bowlampar]

@pa_2600 You can't actually bomb 'Sargassum' into extinction, you need cleaning crew ship not Navy warship. 😁🤣😁

[@malsprower]

Humans won't listen and learn until everything and everyone is dead, we are that dense as a species.

[@timeWaster76]

As food Japanese cuisine as well as Chile have traditionally consumed Sargassum, known as hijiki, although it contains high amounts of arsenic, part of the arsenic cycle from groundwater, waterways, into oceans and back to land. There are methods to process and greatly reduce arsenic from this genus of seaweed, potentially making it a nearly inexhaustible food supply for animals or people.

[@scottprather5645]

Interesting it would certainly be ideal if the sargasm could be utilized for food source

[@nenettesilver]

If they can make good use of the sargassum seaweeds, it is a useful way of eliminating and controlling the sargassum from invading the clean beaches of MX.

[@egyptson9428]

the ocean said.... take back your lead!

[@snuggleskie]

This interviewer seems so condescending to the locals.

[@renomarquez28]

That what I thought as well

[@szacharyf]

It *IS* on Florida beaches!! Not like this but we are experiencing way more than normal. Beaches are polluted with this seaweed and the cities can’t afford to clean it up!

[@ShakaZoulou77]

Right, lagae that capture wasted fertilizers and CO2 is pollution now, just because some turists can enjoy to work for tan.

[@benjamindejonge3624]

It make great pellets for the stove and garden

[@rorytennes8576]

so the seaweed collects lead out of the water. that would be a good thing.

[@johnengland8619]

Until it shows up on the beach, that's a bad thing

[@JayJay-xr8ds]

"Nobody really knows what to do with it" But you just saw a dude built a house...

[@mcox8829]

I thought sargassum was supposed to be funny?

[@pedromata3931]

That's terrible 😂

[@Lu-cho]

😱😱😱 I'm WATCHING this 2023 FLORIDA. Was thinking this is 2023 Report/news. 😬😬😬

[@michaeld954]

Its kind of good because the seaweed is cleaning the ocean if it collecting the heavy metals, just have to built a disposal plant to remove the toxins and burn the seaweed off or load it onto boat's and ship it out to someone who can do it

[@christianmandigo5108]

It’s toxic and it’s estimated at 22 million tons. I’m sorry my friend this is the beginning of “global warming” aka Gods Judgment

[@DrCrabfingers]

I think drying it and using it for bio-fuel could be an answer....the toxins can be removed during combustion, we already have that technology.

[@tawanaturner8854]

@@christianmandigo5108 EXACTLY!!!! 2023 ITS HERE NOW.. BIG TIME!!!!

[@Change-your-username]

​@@DrCrabfingers I didn't know that information. That's cool! Spread the word.

[@cooterswift916]

this reporter is kinda annoying

Get rid of the right-wing government in Brazil and stop destroying the rain forest.

[@richardatchison5296]

Can it be used as fertilizers

[@raopsepol]

it has poisonous heavy metals like arsenic. so no it cant.

[@publiccharge3847]

The guy making bricks is impressive. They need to process it in multiple ways.

[@jamesthomas7928]

If it's spread out and rain washed it is the most potent fertilizer.

[@saave47]

thanks

[@charlesvandenburgh7008]

Mother nature has declared "revenge" on mankind and we are the losers.

[@jeovanneramos5066]

Charles Vandenburgh we are just fleas to a dog 🐶 !

[@charlesvandenburgh7008]

@@jeovanneramos5066 "Fleas" about to get a nasty " flea bath" from Mother Nature.

[@christianmandigo5108]

Yahweh aka God has declared revenge not no fake Mother Nature

[@charlesvandenburgh7008]

@@christianmandigo5108 I should have said: God is allowing "Mother Nature" to do her "thing" upon planet Earth.

[@mariafarfan3398]

Why?????

[@mikeletterst9882]

Feed it to our politicians

[@tr7b410]

Warmer waters+fertilizer,s create a perfect environment for these sea-weeds to proliferate.

[@Spiderman-tg9ke]

Like the man said it's necessary for the Ocean's ecosystem but too much is too much. Too bad it's not distributed by itself all over the oceans and not on shores

[@ShakaZoulou77]

Who decide that is to much. Turism sector which are losing revenue. Nature isn't complaning, just compare the quantity of living organisms thriving on it against sandy beaches empty of sargasso

[@rorytennes8576]

is it alge or seaweed ? there is a differnce.

[@woabeatz9717]

Can we use as fertilzer...

[@Sweetearth1958]

No. It's full of toxic metals. In the plant.

[@woabeatz9717]

@@Sweetearth1958 compose it?

[@XxProJ3ct3dSoulXx]

Yes you can

[@divinediva6320]

The Caribbean should have some type of mechanism to keep the Sargassum ! I would like the seaweed for building bricks!

[@ninehundreddollarluxuryyac5958]

Its removing carbon from the atmosphere and also cleaning all that lead and heavy metals out of the ocean. There must be quarries and old mines that represent big holes we've dug and need filling in. Why not search for sites like that close to the beaches where you want to get rid of seaweed? Its something to fill in that big hole, and after a while, it will rot down a bit, making room for more.

[@saywhat951]

Johnny Go Hut is the best way to describe the smell for 6 months of the year its not the Riviera Maya its the Riviera Sewage!!

[@andrewvillanueva3722]

Looks best to put out nets in front of the beaches to get before it gets to land.

[@ezmoney6341]

Give it some time Im sure the McDonald’s can find a way to incorporate this into the food chain. If they can make a bottom feeding fish with eyes on one side of its heads into a delicious sandwich anything is possible.

[@fleaflicker1451]

Awww but halibut is delicious! 🐟

[@edwinsutton5076]

Woah! God made flounder and I doubt it has ever been in a mickyD sandwich. One the size of a plate sells for $25 on the beach

[@edwinsutton5076]

And I've never seen a fisherman sell even one they catch.

[@none5185]

They are using "toxic seaweed" to build bricks for a home? I wouldn't to live there. Burn it. Global warming has nothing to do with seaweed. THey clearly stated in the beginning of the video that the cause was from Brazil cutting down trees, and using fertilizer.

[@orangecrush455]

JustSayin is not he whole world eating beef and cutting trees?

[@vicfrom47]

Very sargasmic

[@noname_0057]

1. Stop dumping trash into the ocean. 2. Stop spilling oil into the ocean 3. The seaweed should be incinerated in an incinerator that has a filter system to filter out the toxic smoke from burning and turn it into non toxic steam.

[@nicolahudson1213]

We better get on it quickly on better ways to stop polluting the environment

[@ShakaZoulou77]

Leave sargassum to thrive and capturing wasted fertilizers and exccess CO2, is the way Nature is taking care of pollution. Nature doesn't care you can't work to your tan.

[@maradoria]

Sargassum, toxic!? Here in Portugal anciant farmers used yo fertilize the fields, and still do!!

[@LarryCleveland]

Then you just ingest the heavy metals. Not smart. We are toast.

[@SkyPilot54]

Excellent fertilizer

[@michelbisson6645]

I need it all

[@ReneChewbaka]

I'm hoping a billion tons of it washes up on Florida's coastlines and knocks some sense into that state..

[@Toaster-v1z]

Looks nasty. You definitely don't want to vacation somewhere that's hitting.

[@geraldsutton9981]

........"and to bring to ruin those ruining the earth." (Rev.11:18) Destruction of the earth is happening over all the earth.....we only have one earth.

[@speedchaser4991]

This is what happens when men forget who God is! Deuteronomy 28:15

[@daviddalby9699]

Use it for compost ???

[@clarenceawalker1873]

If there's a how there's a way to dispose of it or actually use it to our advantage. Something has to be done about it.

[@nah4422]

Blue oceans are starting to rotten, literally..but hey lets keep making money!

[@Bob-bm1fk]

It helps restore the beaches. Blowing sand is trapped in it. Buiiding dunes.

[@bitbugsbyte]

Are we thinking this is from fertilizer runoff? Why does the Ocean have so much new fertilizer? Where are the heavy metals coming from?

[@dondroc1]

Recent floods in the grain belt of USA washed all the newly applied fertilizers down the drain.

[@YusufOnder]

We learned there is a Mexican Dream 😅

[@podocrypto6072]

This is from all the phosphates and nitrogen used in agriculture in South, Central and North Americas, whereas the products are used in farm fields and even grassy plains, including residential lawns, and then run offs from the rains wash it into the oceans and causes these huge algae blooms, which include Sargassum, Red Tide and Blue-Green algae.

[@nodatastored684]

So, it is migrating north... In the tides

[@hayward022]

We need more.

[@brendatenorio5721]

Smart woman.

[@edwardfoehring8827]

What can we use it for ? Fuel base stock fertilizer, has to be somthing !

[@24June91]

Building bricks

[@anonymousjoker946]

It makes oxygen

[@functionalvanconversion4284]

It would be great if we distilled it and extracted the metals, so you could decontaminate the oceans. What a pipe dream🤔?

[@jimmarquez-medina9543]

Pray the Rosary everyday ✝️

[@sammyvh11]

Mexico has a navy.....wow

[@jogmas12]

sammyvh11 they always had a navy, where you been, cave?

[@babyblue7798]

soooo sad! i remember cancun beaches so clear and turquoise colors. I remenber i cried when i had to leave to go back home because it was so gorgeous!

[@sheenac2756]

We have ruined this planet ! We have got to do better!! ( and fast 💨)

[@inboxnews]

It's over. Pack your bags.

[@Ghosststar]

Not We a Certain Group of People in Power did

[@ericmartin2470]

planet Earth has a dynamic climate, meaning it changes. there were times when the poles were hot enough to support a jungle ecosystem. there were times when glaciers covered the entire planet. right now we are in a warm period in the middle of an ice age. its the MSM job to put fear into the population, it makes them stupid and far easier to control.

[@dorisfaust8965]

Can it be burned?

[@williamcuttsii8606]

I was just there it's so bad

[@bobbleheadmoe]

Can they burn it? The home idea is awesome !!!

[@veganwinter2090]

Purification of Earth Waters is a big need, as such, and our Veganic bodies also benefit from seaweed in diet to purify. Indo-seaweed system could tell us more when we find it...perhaps showing us how to end paralysis and other moral backbone needs with greater degrees of purity and Veganic and better diet/lifestyles. Indo-...

[@jessvd1]

Toxic??

[@josemilian4167]

like that man found use for it. I'd read that wind carries soil from northern Africa into ocean as well, promoting growth of certain plants wonder if it's also a contributor of this problem.

[@aaabbbccc985]

We have a lot of problems that come from Africa

[@avail1.]

It is out of humanities controll. The "Weather Makers" have passed the point of "no-return". 1John 2:17 this World, is passing away.

[@speedchaser4991]

This is what happens when men forget who God is! Deuteronomy 28:15

[@bhoney1988]

We are in the middle of the 6th mass extinction

[@sheilacampbell4373]

Purify it and feed your people, animals, and plants. "Manna" is a blessing, so be hungry no more!

[@mikerockwood4475]

What can the seaweed be good for ?

[@tedmoser3657]

Norfolk Southern could just burn it, like they did with the toxic chemicals in Ohio. A brilliant move that was.

[@ts109]

A couple years ago florida dumped a bunch of phosphate waste reservoirs, along with years of runoff contribute to this and maybe makes this natural occurance worse than it needs to be.

[@jamalcole1985]

Mother nature. It is what it is