destruction of the aral sea
The Aral Sea is one of only 17 ancient lakes in the world, and is estimated to be more than 5 million years old. At one time the Aral Sea was a vibrant ecosystem of life that supported millions of people who lived near its shores. To many, the Aral Sea has now become synonymous with environmental catastrophe. In the early 1960's, the Soviet government decided to make the Soviet Union self-sufficient in cotton and increase its production. Government officials ordered the additional amount of needed water to be taken from the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers that feed the Aral Sea. Large dams were built across both rivers, and an 850-mile central canal with a far-reaching system of smaller canals was created. When the irrigation system was completed, millions of acres along both sides of the main canal were flooded. This action by man has caused what was once the fourth largest lake in the world to lose forty percent of its area and also has threatened the lives of people who live near it.The Aral Sea is an inland salt-water sea with no outlet. It is fed by two rivers, the Amu Darya and S
They are also the only sources of water for the lake. During the past 10-15 years, kidney and liver diseases, especially cancers, have increased 30-40 fold, arthritic diseases by 60-fold and chronic bronchitis by 30-fold. Salt sand and dust from the exposed mud beds blows across the region, wreaking damage on the people and the agriculture. Climate changes have led to a dryer and shorter summer in the region, and longer and colder winters. Between 1960 and 1987, its level of the sea dropped nearly 13 meters, and its area decreased by 40 percent. The people living in the Aral Sea region have suffered grave heath problems due to the destruction of the Aral Sea. Given the increased salt and pollutant content in the air and soil, as the sea shrinks, the rate of tuberculosis, anemia, cancer and birth defects have all increased. The fresh water from these two rivers held the Aral's water and salt levels in perfect balance. By the early 1980s, commercial fishing had been eliminated, shutting down an industry that had employed 60,000. In addition, the environmental degradation created a vast wasteland of glaring white sand that blows into agricultural fields, contaminating the earth and forcing farmers to compensate for declining output by putting more pesticides and fertilizers into the soil - poisoning it even more. The vegetative season has been reduced to 170 days. The problems began when the former Soviet Union made Kazakhstan its main producer of cotton, a plant that requires a great deal of water to grow.
Common topics in this essay:
Aral Sea,
Uzbekistan Fish,
Turkmenistan Kazakhstan,
Syr Darya,
Union Kazakhstan,
Soviet Union,
aral sea,
Central Asian,
Western Sea,
darya syr darya,
Darya Syr,
amu darya syr,
destruction aral,
pesticides fertilizers,
darya syr,
soviet union,
amu darya,
soviet government,
syr darya,
Amu Darya,
water rivers,
destruction aral sea,
|
Acceptance Essays
