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16642
From: Eve, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Aral Sea - one of the planets worst environmental disasters
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/22/newsid_3756000/3756134.stm 1990: Aral Sea is 'world's worst disaster' The Royal Geographical Society has unveiled evidence that the devastated region around the Aral Sea in Central Asia is the world's worst ecological disaster. Three British scientists have just come back from a visit to the lake that straddles the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. What was once the fourth largest area of fresh water in the world has shrunk by two-thirds. It has fallen in depth by more that 14 metres (45 feet) in the past 30 years endangering the lives of the four million inhabitants of the region. Soviet irrigation policies from the early 1960s diverted water from its two sources, the Amu Darya, or Oxus, and the Syr Darya in order to supply vast areas of cotton fields to the south of the Aral. Infant mortality high David Brundsen, professor of Geography at Kings College London, said the situation was far worse than they had anticipated. What was once a thriving fishing industry has been destroyed and the climate has changed, with shorter dryer summers and longer colder winters. Chemical pollution has caused serious illnesses. Infant mortality is worse than any other developing country in the world, with 10% of children dying in their first year. Death from chronic gastritis and kidney disease has increased by 15%, heart disease has doubled and incidences of kidney disease has risen 15-fold as drinking water becomes ever more salty and polluted. Cancer has increased tenfold and death from TB is 21 times higher than it was in the 1960s. Abandoned ships lie on the 80km (50 miles) of exposed seabed, now encrusted with salt and agricultural chemicals that are causing illnesses. In the late 1980s the water level fell so low that the ancient sea split into two bodies of water. Tony French, senior lecturer in geography at University College London, said that at this rate there would be very little left of the Aral Sea by the millennium. ------------------- article about some recent revival as fish have been making a come back ... https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2018/03/north-aral-sea-restoration-fish-kazakhstan/ |
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16645
From: eaamon, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Aral Sea - one of the planets worst environmental disasters
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funny I thought the North East was the worst disaster. but not talked about. pollution dumps that ended up in the local river there, Lowell Massachusetts and several cities down stream. meaning Methuen, Lawrence, North Andover (jay Leno's town) Haverill and can not be sure who also got their water from the river. people in Lowell, same city the movie "the Fighter" had it so bad you were not to bathe, drink or water yards. this went on for a while. cancer there in 1970 was about 2 per every 10 families has a cancer person. by 1980 it went up to 8 out of 10 had someone with cancer. by the 1990's it was 10 out of 10 had some one with cancer but also 3 out of those 10 had 2 family members with cancer. by 2000 it was getting far worse 10 out of 10 had 2 family members with cancer and 5 out of 10 had three or more with cancer. by 2010 my dad said he did not want to talk about any more. lost his best friend (cancer), the mayor who had access to those stats. now this is just for Lowell, I can not speak for any town or city down stream along that Merrimac River. I have no idea about pets in this. folks this is still on going. Lowell had about 100,000 citizens. |
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