Collapse of the Aral Sea
The breakup of the Former Soviet Union has forced those now independent states into a state of confusion. Republics that were once one nation now are separate governments. They now must compete for trade alliances, industrial resources, financial resources, and most importantly, agricultural resources. An area of developed concern is the Aral Sea. The Aral Sea was once the fourth largest lake in the world, located in Kazakstan and Uzbekistan, but between 1960 and 1990, the Aral Sea dropped into the sixth position. By 1980, more than 95 percent of the inflow into the Aral Sea was diverted for irrigational purposes. Due to financial competition, and policies that gave preference to irrigation for agriculture, the Soviet Satellites withdrew unprecedented amounts of water from the two rivers feeding the Aral Sea. These two rivers were the only sources of inflow into the Aral Sea; their names are Syr Darya and Amu Darya. Much of the biological diversity has disappeared, of the 24 different species that once thrived in this lake, only four remain. If these processes continue, this lake has the potential to bec
The collapse of the Aral Sea for irrigating cotton crops was a disastrous choice for the U.S.S.R. Although the United States and many other organizations are putting efforts towards rebuilding the Aral Sea, these efforts will never be enough to repair the damage done. Species of fish endemic to the Aral Sea are now wiped out, the surrounding land soiled with salt deposits and rapidly declining human health, all for one thing, money. The people of the world must learn to be wary of Mother Nature because one day, we could cause a disaster that can never be repaired. ome a lifeless brine lake. There are many different by-products of this disaster ranging from the decline in fish population diversity to a rise in the amount of brutal sand storms to declining human health in the area. Human health has also severely declined. Almost two thirds of the population are ill, with the infant mortality rate two times the world average. Eighty-four percent of children ages 3-12 are underweight along with increasing cases of typhoid, hepatitis, cancer of the esophagus, and gastrointestinal diseases. Eighty percent
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Approximate Word count = 749
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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