China Frantically Trying to Clean Up Red Algae Blooms Before Olympics

Thousands of people in the coastal Chinese city of Qingdao are working to clean up huge amounts of algae that currently cover the beaches and the water along the coastline. This ‘red tide’ in the Yellow Sea threatens to interfere with the upcoming Olympics. Qingdao officials are trying to convince the public that the bloom has been caused by increased rainfall and warmer waters rather than the fact that several coastal cities dump raw sewage into the water and high levels of nitrates empty into the sea from agricultural and industrial runoff. Yeah, okay.

From the International Herald Tribune:

Local officials have initiated an all-out effort to clean up the algae by mid-July. Media reports estimate that as many as 20,000 people have either volunteered or been ordered to participate in the operation, while 1,000 boats are scooping algae out of the Yellow Sea. The official news agency, Xinhua, reported that algae currently covered a third of the coastal waters designated for the Olympic races.

Yuan Zhiping, an official with the Qingdao Olympic Sailing Committee, said Sunday that the government would attempt to block algae from floating into the Olympic sailing area by installing a fenced perimeter in the sea that is more than 50 kilometers, or 30 miles, long.

“I believe we will make sure the Olympics sailing area is clean by July 15 through our efforts, and make sure the Olympics sailing goes smoothly,” Yuan said, according to the Shandong News Web site.

The massive algae outbreak comes as some sailing teams are already in Qingdao preparing for the Olympics.

What a mess! Massive red tides, insane levels of air pollution, destroyed ecosystems, contaminated water – all of this certainly makes China seem like an incredibly dirty, messed up place. And so much of it is due to China desperately trying to emulate the Western world in terms of prosperity (great example we’ve given them) and due to our own polluting factories in China, taking advantage of the cheap labor. Time for changes all around!

Link [International Herald Tribune]
Photo credit: Stringer/Reuters

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