Un’invasione di alghe brune sta colpendo la Riviera Maya in Messico, famosa per le sue spiagge bianche e l'acqua cristallina. I sargassi arenati ricoprono la sabbia e rilasciano un odore di uova marce dovuto alla decomposizione. Il problema non tocca solo il turismo e potrebbe avere delle conseguenze irreversibili sull’ambiente.
"Questo potrebbe trasformarsi in un disastro ecologico", racconta una ricercatrice dell'Università nazionale autonoma del Messico. Gli studi hanno mostrato che, dopo una prima ondata nel 2015, il fenomeno è esploso nel 2018 con l'arrivo di 24 milioni di metri cubi, l'equivalente di 3’000 campi da calcio. La proliferazione di questa alga ha messo in allarme gli stessi abitanti che si sono mobilitati per ripulire le spiagge.
Alcuni imprenditori locali invece hanno saputo sfruttare la situazione trasformando le alghe in prodotti commerciabili. C’è chi ha brevettato una ricetta per fabbricare mattoni, chi ha utilizzato la cellulosa del sargasso per produrre taccuini riciclati e chi, combinandola con il PET, l’ha utilizzata come materia prima per produrre scarpe.
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