A human-made disaster Essays

A human-made disaster Essays A human-made disaster Essay A human-made disaster Essay The Aral Sea, a mammoth body of water which is located on the border of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, former parts of the Soviet Union and now the Commonwealth of Independent States, was once the fourth largest sea in the entire planet. The two major rivers that feed it are Amudarya and Syrdarya (darya meaning river). But the Aral Sea has been shrinking for over four decades. Now, it is only the eleventh largest sea on our planet. This disaster, like many others, is caused by man, but on a much larger scale.It began when the U.S.S.R, determined to conquer the mountainous, desert terrain around the Aral Sea, came up an ingenious scheme. Moscow ordered water to be diverted from Amudarya and Syrdarya in large amounts to irrigate the cotton fields in the Central Asian desert. The plan worked. Where nothing had ever grown, now grew millions of tons of white gold. The economy was boosted and nature had been tamed yet again. However, this excessive use of water meant that by the time the water reached the Aral Sea, it was reduced to barely a trickle of water, polluted by harmful chemicals. Over the next years, this resulted in the shrinking of the Aral Sea. Recently, the sea began vanishing faster than ever expected.Now, one-time sea-side towns are stranded in the middle of a salty desert. The climate is getting warmer and warmer because of the reduced cooling affect of the sea. There is little rain, but there is a lot of stagnant water. The atmosphere has been poisoned by salts and deadly chemicals. Sandstorms sweep the land carrying with them poisonous salts and other dangerous chemicals. There arent any fish in the Sea: they were slaughtered by the chemicals released. There was also an island which was once a Soviet bio-weapon facility. The harmful waste dumped on this island is currently being cleaned as part of an international project.These are tough times for people living in the regions around the Aral Sea. There are far too limited fishing opportunities, much to the fishermens despair who are now escaping this region. There is little water, clean enough for hygiene and to drink. There are premature births and more miscarriages as a result of a polluted atmosphere. Diseases, such as typhoid, are on the increase. More and more people are becoming unemployed as, not only the fishing, but canning industry suffers as well.Even now, Uzbekistan is one of the largest exporters of cotton in the world. Although, this advantage is only limited as it is only a matter of time as the income from cotton decreases, striking a blow at both nations economies, while income from fishing has already become sparse and unemployment is on the rise.The question at this time is how to undo another of our blunders. The answers proposed are that the quality of irrigation canals be improved and desalination plants be built on the Aral Sea. Another set of ideas are charging farmers to use water and planting cotton that requires less water. But these ideas will require money, which these nations do not possess.In conclusion, Aral Sea is another one of the numerous human-made disasters, but on a much larger magnitude. We should learn from this mistake and keep them in mind as we move on to attain new feats. We also need to take action on the issues of the future NOW, such as the global warming crisis which will affect the whole world and on a lot larger scale than the Aral Sea. Or else, like in this case, it might be too late.