reporter: this week global 3000 aims straight for the taste-buds. algae it seems is the new pasta. we check out some ocean farms in the us. and speaking of oceans, they're growing increasingly full of trash. among them a startling number of single flipflops. in kenya, they're being turned into art. but first, we head to turkey where the government has recently dismissed many university academics. we meet a sociologist who suffered that fate. since the attempted coup on the turkish government in july, the

country has changed dramatically. there's still no conclusive evidence as to who was behind the failed putsch. but around 40,000 people have since been arrested. and over 80,000 teachers, judges, professors and other civil servants have been suspended or sacked. but many of those affected say they have no connection to the coup. [applause] applause for hakan koçak's before he leaves the building -- along with some harsh words for the turkish government. >> we shouldn't be ashamed of ourselves -- they should be . reporter: the sociologist is one of 19 academics from the kocaeli university who have been forced to resign. colleagues, staff, students -- all have come to express their solidarity. they say none of those dismissed from their posts belonged to

islamic cleric fethullah gulen's organization. and that they're shocked by the public accusation that they are involved in it. the turkish government accuses gülen's movement of orchestrating july's coup attempt. koçak enjoys one last moment in his office with his daughter. then it's time to go. out in front of the university, he gives a statement to the media. >> i keep asking myself, which terrorist organinistion am i supposed to belong to? everyone knows that we're not part of the gulen movement. are they simply inventing a new terrorist group? this is a huge injustice. reporter: while thousands of gulen supporters are now imprisoned across the country, state prosecutors haven't really charged any of the professors,

or university staff. but they still feel trapped in a labyrinth -- in a kafka-esque nightmare. two days earlier, the academics held a meeting, and discussed possible legal action to prevent their dismisissal. but they quickly realized the situation was hopeless. on the 1st of september, the turkish government issued a decree that led to the dismissal of over two thousand academics working as public servants. they stand accused of helping to organize the coup attempt in july, and of being part of the conservative islamic g gulen movement. it's now classified as a terrorist organisation by the turkish government. koçak took us to his home. he wanted to make it clear he has nothing to do with the gulen movement. he tells us that he and his wife raise their daughter in a secular, modern way.

but they worry about her future, because the turkish state is adopting an increasingly conservative islamic line. >> our lifestyle is completely different from that of gulen supporters. they see gulen as a prophet. we, on the other hand, are free people. we don't follow anyone. we are completely open. everything we believe, we say out loud, or publish it. gulen supporters keep what they truly believe hidden from the public. reporter: koçak why he believes he has been dismissed. he thinks it has nothing to do with being part of a terrorist organization. in january -- along with 2000 other turkish academics -- he signed a letter calling for the government to cease hostilities in the kururdish regions of thee country. the paper also urged authorities to open peace negotiations with the outlawed 'pkk' kurdistan workers party. >> for weeks and months we've

seen terrible images coming from the country's southeast: photos of women and children. a child's corpse couldn't be buried -- they stored it in a refrigerator. i wasn't the only one dismayed by these images. a group of academics discussed what we could do to help us come to terms with the guilt we were feeling. that's why we signed the letter. reporter: koçak says that's the real reason he's being dismissed from the university. he also suspects that the government is gradually trying to bring academics and teachers into line. just weeks after the attempted coup, thousands of people took to the streets of istanbul to protest. they're against the gulen organization and the attempt to overthrow the government. but they also say the government's purge goes too far. koçak knows he can't prevent

being dismissed from his public post. on stage, he seems timid at first, but he then speaks freely about his experience. >> they handed us documentation from theheirnvestigatitions and asked d us if we regretttted our actitions. but children shouldn't die, womemen shouldn't die, soldiers shouldn't die. should we regret having said ththese words? no, we definitely don't regret sayingng this. reporter: selatim demirtas, leader of the pro-kurdish hdp party, was also at the demonstration. >> it's a disgrace that academics are being compared with putschists and are losing their jobs simply because they signed a declaration. reporter: koçak doesn't regret anything. he says the government has put him and his colleagues in the

same category as gulen supporters and terrorists without reason. but he's also afraid that the worst is still to come. >> this government's decree could be leading us down a very dangerous path. it's a decree thatat enables a government to simply dismantle any opposition. reporter: the ruling turkish akp government has declined to comment on the dismissal of academics from their posts. ♪ reporter: our planet's seas have become one huge rubbish dump. over the years, ocean currents have moved much of it together, forming enormous spinning vortexes of trash. these aren't always visible, because much of the rubbish sinks beneath the surface. most of it floats at 10 meters below the waves, some larger parts as deep as 30 meters. every year, an additional 8 million tons of plastic finds its way into the sea.

>> a beach on the coast of kenya. plastic garbage ruins what would otherwise be an idyllic landscape. at least 5 mmillion tons of plastic end up every year in the world's oceans. here, too, in the bay of watamu on the indian ocean, the tide constantly washes in huge numbers of plastic bags, bottles, and sandals. these flipflops are perfect for a kenyan environmental project. everyone wears them -- especially at the beach. many are forgotten or thrown away, and end up in the sea. >> pick picked them up, we clean around the beach is. >> many people here make a living from tourism -- another reason why it's important to keep the beach clean. the collectors pick up all sorts

of garbage. some of it is recycled on the spot. but the flipflops go to the capital, nairobi, where they no longer endanger marine life. in fact, they'll help protect it. the discarded footwear is turned into colorful animal figurines here. they're a real sales hit, especially with tourists. >> i'm using this as a tool to communicate healthy oceans, to communicate the ocean is not the world's dumping yard. and to find ways to connect people to the ocean, because we are a blue planet, but most people forget that. >> ocean sole recycles 400,000 plastic sandals every year. after they're washed, they're carved into artistic figures. about 100 kenyans work here. francis musau says he can support his family with his job.

he used to be a wood-carver. but now he says working with flipflops makes a lot more sense. >> when we came to this design we started to use it, because there we were using the wood which we are cutting down. but now we are doing it better. >> the flipflop-animals are sold in the us, england, and in germany. part of the proceeds go to a sea-life protection program. and they're being copied -- with independent kenyan beach-carvers producing their own versions of the popular souvenirs. reporter: there are over 150 million tons of plastic trash floating around in our oceans. hungry predator fish frequently mistake larger objects for prey. and if they ingest too much, it can kill them. that's one reason why stocks of marine predators like shark, tuna and sword fish have fallen by 90%.

dragnets too cause huge problems: 80% of global fish stocks are now overfished. if this continues, by 2050, experts predict wild stocks of many popular species will be fished out completely. >> it's hard to imagine a meal made with these slimy strands of brown seaweed. but bren smith and others like him are making the food popular. bren calls himself an 'ocean farmer' -- someone who cultivates and harvests marine plants. when he talks about his past, you can hear a lot of regret in his voice. at 14, he dropped out of school, and got a job plundering the sea. >> i dropped out of high school when i was 14 and i've been a commercial fisherman for decades. on the bering sea i was working for the factory trawlers, tearing up entire eco systems, our fish was going to mcdonald's, for the mcfish sandwich.

i was a young kid, but most destructive form of food production of planet producing some of the lowest quality. my history on the oceans is the history of ecological demise. >> by the early 1990s, the ecosystem in the north atlantic had been ruined. thousands of people who lived from the fishing industry suddenly found themselves out of a job. bren eventually founded a non-profit called greenwave, which promotes large-scale algae production. >> we can't grow food the same way. we cannot pollute the same way. this is zero input food. no water, no fertilizer, no feet, so it is the most sustainable food on the planet. but it's also going to be the most affordable food on the planet. >> bren still earns his living from the sea. but now he also works for long-term sustainability in the sector. his ocean farm covers 20 hectares. all he needed to set it up was a boat and $30,000 in seed money. sponsors helped him raise that

capital. a kilogram of algae currently sells for the equivalent of about 11 euros. by harvesting shellfish as well, bren can cover costs. and by alternating between the two products, he has work throughout the entire year. he developed his garden system with help from scientists. biologist and ecologist charlie yarish from the university off connecticut planted algae for many years to help filter pollutants from water. >> kelp are just -- very beautiful organisms. they have a lot of different uses besides being good for biological diversity and ecosystems. they also have verergood economic value, especially for human consumption that really tastes good. >> the artificial reef the team set up has attracted about 150 different marine organisms. the kelp has to grow for about 6 months before it can be

harvested and eaten. reporter: how does it taste? >> it tastes salty and acidic. it's a little sour. >> bren ththinks seaweed wililla key crop in the future. more than 40 countries have already expressed interest in his garden system. the stalks can be pickled like gherkins. and the leaves are often used as a substitute for pasta. after a short immersion in boiling water, they have a dark green color. his products are especially popular in new york restaurants, like the ribbon on the upper westside. >> the beauty of kelp is that it is so rich in nutrients and everything, and you don't always have to eat it hot here you can eat it cold, y you can eat it aa salad, blend it into a smoothie.

>> until now, kelp was mostly found only in n asn cuisine.e. but tastes and attttitudes in other countries are changing. >> it has more calcium. it has more iron than spinach. it is super nutritious. it has basically no fat. it's an absolute nutrient bomb. >> in major urban centers in the us like new york, seaweed is trending as the latest superfood. >> i feel like it's a great substitute for a possible you can throw a sauce on it and it fits really well. like she was saying, the texture is amazing. >> it's just so much lighter in calories. we feel a lot healthier, but we really enjoyed the flavor. >> in america, they say, what matters is where you're going, not where you come from. and bren knows where he's going. he wants to make the world a better place. >> my goal is i want to die on

my boat one day. that will be success. that is my dream, and this has allowed me to live that dream, just to spend the rest of my life on the ocean do something of value, actually helped feed the country and do my small part in helping address things like climate change and acidification. >> this is only the beginning. soon he hopes to see at least 25 more seagardens in the us. from fisherman to farmer. bren smith now does his part to protect the ocean. reporter: now we head to southern africa, home to the rhinoceros. most of these large land animals are native to zimbabwe, kenya, namibia and south africa where there are around 21,000 of them. but it used to be far more. since the turn of ththe century, there's been a huge rise in rhino killings. the global black market in rhino horn is now a billion dollar business. traders receive an average of $60,000 u.s. per kilo of horn. but while the battle against

poachers is certainly challenging, it's not hopeless. >> africa was once populated by hundreds of thousands of rhinoceroses. africa's national parks have had to ramp up security because more and more poachers are heavily armed. the fight against poaching is turning into a war. the rangers in south africa's kruger national park don't want to be recognized out of concern for their families' safety. >> from years back rangers used to focus more on environmental stuff and with time there seem

to be a switch of us being more military in some ways. like you can see, i'm carrying a rifle. >> there are often firefights between the rangers and illegal hunters. if the park employees manage to arrest poachers out hunting rhinos, they're often hauled before the magistrate court at the park's skukuza camp. it deals almost exclusively with cases of poaching. most of the detained poachers are young men. they face decades in jail, says state prosecutor ansie venter. >> they dedestroy their owown l. i mean, they get to go homome after ten, twenty or thirty yeyears, leaving the famamily devastated with no income, because to the best of our knowledge the crime bosses don't worry about the families.

>> the men -- many of whom come from mozambique -- receive about $500 for a successful hunt. that's a lot for the impoverished people here. and it makes it a huge temptation. often the men spend all the money on a single weekend. then they return to the hunt -- killing rhinos until one day they're finally caught. around 400 of them are tried in the court every year. lawyer mike nonyane often defends young poachers. >> the synyndicates, the dealer, they can approach one, looking at their educational background and their reasoning capacity, they tell them that it is a lot

of money. they don't tell them about the risk involved. so i would say, they're victims as such. >> victims or perpetrators -- in any case they're small fry. -- small criminals. others are making the big profits from the illegal wildlife trade. if the killing continues unchecked, elephants and rhinos may disappear from the wild in africa by the middle of this century. >> the rhinos are wiped out. and what's going to follow? maybe elephants? and then one day there will be another order for lions and then leopards and some day we'll be fighting each other for the last buck that be left in this vast huge of lands which used to be

called kruger and imagine in years to come if you c come back here maybe in thirty years and then you walk around this huge land, 2 million hectares and then you don't find a single animal. what would it be like? >> "death on the savannah." that's the title of our exclusive web documentary. we meet those battling to save the last remaining rhinos in krüger national park. how do they track down the poachers? and find enough evidence to prosecute them? is there a chance of saving these majestic animals from extinction?

♪ >> i'm 16. >> i am millennial. >> i have many friends. if i become sad, i can share m y feelings and at that time they solve my problem. so i really love the orphanage. >> my name is rupak pariyah and i am 16 years old. i live in jharuwarashi, near to the nepali capital city kathmandu. ♪

♪ >> my father was crazy and my mother went away from me, so that i am single, i am alone. my parents were poor. sometimes i cry and sometimes i become very sad that i a am not able to meet my parents. >> bye bye. >> i love the school and i like going to school. my aim is to be an engineer, so

i like to study and maybe school is good place to study. the main cause was also earthquake. i saw many houses falling down and i want to consnstruct betttr housuses. global warming is one of the problems of the world, because many chimneys, industries, factories have been made in high numbers, from which polluted air is going up. we are having solar in the orphanage and this is good and we have various facilities from the solar system. we are having hot water and also good environment in the orphanage. i love my orphanage. ♪

>> 16 years of 00's -- 16 years of lifife. global is travelling around the globe to meet teens who were born in the year 2000. >> i'm totally crazy about dance. >> what moves angel from the seychelles? and what makes buenos aires worth living in for simon? join us in our series "millennium teens." you can find out how on our webpage. reporter: that's all for this week. do visit us online anytime, or on facebook where you'll find more web videos. we love hearing from you. write to us at global3000@dw.comglobal3000@dw.c global3000@dw.comglobal3000@dw.c see you soon. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.

10/21/16 10/21/1616 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica, this is democracy now! >> the most disenfranchised, marginalized population was essentially under a reign of terror by a group of officers. these officers uncovered it, undertook to investigate it undercover with the fbi and internal affairs, were outed within the department and they have become e the focus of hostility within the department. amy: two's chicago police officers who blew