U.N. chief shocked by shrinking lake

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

U.N. chief shocked by shrinking lake
'Clearly one of the worst disasters,' he says of Aral Sea

http://msnbcmedia3.msn.com.nyud.net:8090/j/ap/uzbekistan%20un-704772473.hlarge.jpg

Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon views a graveyard of ships
that once had been on the shores of the Aral Sea in Muynak,
Uzbekistan, on Sunday.

By JIM HEINTZ
updated 2 hours, 20 minutes ago

NUKUS, Uzbekistan - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday called the drying up of the Aral Sea one of the planet's most shocking disasters and urged Central Asian leaders to step up efforts to solve the problem.

Once the world's fourth-largest lake, the sea has shrunk by 90 percent since the rivers that feed it were largely diverted in a Soviet project to boost cotton production in the arid region.

The shrunken sea has ruined the once-robust fishing economy and left fishing trawlers stranded in sandy wastelands, leaning over as if they dropped from the air. The sea's evaporation has left layers of highly salted sand, which winds can carry as far away as Scandinavia and Japan, and which plague local people with health troubles.

Ban toured the sea by helicopter as part of a visit to the five countries of former Soviet Central Asia. His trip included a touchdown in Muynak, Uzbekistan, a town once on the shore where a pier stretches eerily over gray desert and camels stand near the hulks of stranded ships.



Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36167170/ns/world_news-world_environment/

[Union Yes]

1. Mother Nature's way of telling Beckkk- I got your denial of climate change right here. knr

[northernlights]

2. manmade problem, but not an example of climate change

The rivers that fed it were diverted by the Soviets to grow cotton.

And maybe a warning to get ready for the coming water wars.

[Arctic Dave]

9. It is a good example for the "man is so arrogant to think they can

change the earth" group. Apparently these people do not do a lot of flying.

[northernlights]

12. agreed.

[cali]

19. except this has zero to do with climate change

[Mithreal]

3. thanks for posting this

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

4. Pic:

[iamthebandfanman]

5. eeek

just like lake Chad in africa

[madamesilverspurs]

6. Ghostly echoes of the recent past,

some that evoke comparisons to tales from a very long time ago. . .





-

[Kablooie]

7. It's a mirage. Global warming is a ploy to steal righteous profits from poor little corporations.

:sarcasm:

In case you didn't notice.

[DatManFromNawlins]

10. Global warming has ZERO to do with this issue

Nice try, though.

[Kablooie]

16. Yeah, that's because it's a ploy.

[eppur_se_muova]

8. Book rec: The Devil and the Disappearing Sea: A True Story about the Aral Sea Catastrophe

http://www.powells.com/biblio/17-9781551925998-1

[Rapier09]

11. Was that cotton worth it?

I am just curious.

[pjt7]

13. pay attention to the details

"the sea has shrunk by 90 percent since the rivers that feed it were largely diverted in a Soviet project to boost cotton production in the arid region."

[humus]

30. using Global Warming...

..to conceal damage caused by overindustralizing i.e. factory/Dam building

http://www.chinahush.com/2010/03/24/droughts-soak-up-southwestern-china/
The drought is just worsening a problem that has been there for a long time. It also doesn’t help when factories in China that pop up like weeds in spring are actively participating in water pollution — a lot of above ground (and more recently, underground) water sources are so contaminated people just can’t use it anymore.

The goverment China says

Drought in southwestern China caused by climate change: experts08:53, March 29, 2010 Meteorologists have attributed the once-in-a-century drought parching southwest China to climate change.

The drought has left more than 18 million residents and 11.7 million head of livestock suffering drinking-water shortages over a region encompassing the southwestern provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and the municipality of Chongqing, data from the Ministry of Civil Affairs showed.

"The direct reason for the drought is light rain and high temperatures," Ren Fuming, a leading expert at China's National Climate Center, told the latest edition of Outlook Weekly, a well-known magazine in China.

Ren's opinion was echoed by Zhang Peiqun, also a meteorologist with the center.

Zhang said the rainfall in worst-hit Yunnan since September last year is the lowest in about 50 years while the average temperature since the beginning of winter is the highest.

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90776/90882/6932990.html

http://www.google.com/search?q=china+drought+south+western&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7GGLR_en

[Duer 157099]

14. Oh, I *so* want to go explore with a metal detector!

Before they fill it up again, that is.

Who knows what might be buried there?

[Lagomorph]

25. Actually, the Soviet's Bioweapons Anthrax center...

...was on an island in the middle of the Sea(lake). It's massively polluted and now it's connected to the mainland. Have fun with you investigations.

Rumors are they neutralized the site, but there are some dumping pits in the area that you should stay away from.

[UpInArms]

15. reminded me of Mono Lake, California

http://www.monolake.org/about/story

In 1941, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power began diverting Mono Lake's tributary streams 350 miles south to meet the growing water demands of Los Angeles.



Deprived of its freshwater sources, the volume of Mono Lake halved, while its salinity doubled. Unable to adapt to these changing conditions within such a short period of time, the ecosystem began to collapse. The photo at left was taken in 1962, after the lake had already dropped almost 25 vertical feet.



Islands, previously important nesting sites, became peninsulas vulnerable to mammalian and reptilian predation. Photosynthetic rates of algae, the base of the food chain, were reduced while reproductive abilities of brine shrimp became impaired. Stream ecosystems unraveled due to lack of water. Air quality grew poor as the exposed lake bed became the source of air-borne particulate matter, violating the Clean Air Act. If something was not done, Mono Lake was certain to become a lifeless chemical sump. The photo at right was taken in 1968. The one below was taken in 1995, at a lake level over 40 vertical feet below the pre-diversion level. Appalled by this prospect, David Gaines formed the Mono Lake Committee in 1978 and began talking to conservation clubs, schools, service organizations, legislators, lawyers and to anyone who would listen about the value of this high desert lake. Under David Gaines' leadership, the Mono Lake Committee grew to 20,000 members and gained legal and legislative recognition for Mono Lake.


A decade later, David Gaines and a Committee staff volunteer, Don Oberlin, were killed in a winter automobile accident near Lee Vining. Despite the loss of its founder, our citizens' action group has continued to lead the fight to protect Mono Lake.

Since 1978, the Committee has achieved many accomplishments in the fight to protect Mono Lake. Working with the public and an extraordinary coalition of government agencies and non-profit groups, the Committee has brought negotiation, legislation, and litigation to Mono Lake's support.

[bertman]

21. Thanks for the info, UpInArms. What is the status of the lake today?

[UpInArms]

23. there's a great website that describes it all -

http://www.monolake.org/today/water

http://www.monolake.org/

thanks for caring!

:hug:

[bertman]

24. I went to the second one and didn't find it. Thanks for the other site.

[toopers]

29. Is there a plan to "restock" the indigenous life . . .

back to the lake and islands? Have the islands returned?

[troubledamerican]

17. Post Removed

[tomm2thumbs]

18. strangely familiar

Close Encounters of the IIIrd Kind

[Duer 157099]

20. Hehe, "the sun came out and sang!"

I love that movie

[XemaSab]

26. It's at 5:55 on this clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8Dp5hrsl-s&feature=related

Close Encounters is high on my list of favored films

And peep the air traffic controller starting at 7:28. If that's not Morgan Freeman I'll eat my hat.

[alfredo]

22. Here's a video linked at Huff post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/04/aral-sea-almost-dried-up_n_524697.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC5UIEx83fo&feature=player_embedded

[Violet_Crumble]

27. See? No wonder there's quite a few DUers who want the UN dismantled!

Shrinking lakes? It's all just anti-Uzbekistan propaganda created by a large and powerful bloc of haters who control the UN! ;)

[KillCapitalism]

28. This is fixable.

Maybe Chechen terrorists will blow the dam & restore things to normal. One can only hope.