Dr. Utku Perktaş is a professor in the Biology Department at Hacettepe University.
There is a noteworthy yet seldom-discussed issue in Türkiye these days. Turkish Ministry of National Education had the removed Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution from the national education curriculum some years ago. Now, they announced the inclusion of the so-called “theory of creationism” into the new term’s schedule. For approximately seven years, the theory of
There used to be universities in Türkiye. I say ‘used to’ because universities in Türkiye have now become institutions that have lost their value and deviated from their purpose. In my recent interview on my radio program Antroposen Sohbetler (Anthropocene Conversations) on Açık Radio, I hosted journalist journalist Tuğba Tekerek. Our focus in the interview
Last week, two parrot species living in our country were in Turkey’s agenda. Reducing the population of the Green Parrot, whose population size increased, came to the fore. This species was among those written to be invasive. So, are these parrots really invasive for our country? To be honest, as an ornithologist as well as
A few days ago, I wrote about the danger that olive groves face. While the press was still covering the importance of the situation, we are now facing a different threat. Sensitive areas, i.e. protected areas and areas that are important for nature, reserved for scientific studies and are not allowed for construction, are opened
The United Nations COP26 Climate Change Conference came to a close on November 13, after two weeks of discussions of world leaders, activists, and experts. It made the headlines throughout the two weeks as the world faces a climate crisis. The final document, also known as Glasgow Climate Pact, underlined the importance of taking concrete
Turkey has been fighting forest fires for days. Drought was on the agenda before the fires. We still haven’t forgotten the death of the flamingos in Salt Lake. We are paying the heaviest price of the global warming bill in the Anthropocene era. When and how the fires will end is not easy to predict.
Rising temperatures and strong winds have triggered numerous forest fires in southern and western Turkey. At least five people have died in the past few days, wildfires are threatening settlements. Antalya’s Manavgat district was the settlement most affected by the fire hazard. Although the previous fires were generally associated with sabotage, we can say that
The Marmara Sea, with an area of 11,000 square kilometers, is an important inland sea for the Middle East. Connected to both the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea with the straits opened with the increase in global temperatures after the Last Glacial Maximum experienced twenty-two thousand years ago, it is considered a unique ecosystem
On World Biodiversity Day on May 22, I drew attention to nitrogen pollution in my article as a major threat to the environment. Coincidentally after this article, images of ‘sea snot’ in the Marmara Sea started to take place in Turkey’s environmental agenda. Experts warned in the news that this incident was a result of