The Aral sea from space in 1985
The Aral sea from space in 2009
The Aral Sea was one of the four largest lakes of the world with an area of 68,000 square kilometres (26,000 sq mi), the Aral Sea has been steadily shrinking since the 1960s after the rivers that fed it were diverted by the Soviet Union for cotton irrigation projects. By 2007 it had declined to 10% of its original size.
The region's once prosperous fishing industry has been virtually destroyed, bringing unemployment and economic hardship. The retreat of the sea has reportedly also caused local climate change, with summers becoming hotter and drier, and winters colder and longer.
The ecosystem of the Aral Sea has been nearly destroyed, not least because of the much higher salinity. The receding sea has left huge plains covered with salt and toxic chemicals – the results of wepons testing, industrial projects, pesticides and fertilizer runoff – which are picked up and carried away by the wind as toxic dust and spread to the surrounding area. The land around the Aral Sea is heavily polluted and the people living in the area are suffering from a lack of fresh water and health problems, including high rates of certain forms of cancer, lung diseases, tuberculosis and certain types of cancer. Infectious diseases are common ailments in the region and liver, kidney and eye problems can also be attributed to the toxic dust storms. Health concerns associated with the region are a cause for an unusually high fatality rate amongst children and pregnant women.
This kind of separation from Nature and this kind of interaction with the environment is another sign of this obsolete consciousness.......
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