Friday, May 4, 2007

This used to be a sea?

Earlier this morning, I bought one of the local newspapers of Bauru, the city I live in in Brazil. On the back page was an editorial about the Aral Sea. Before reading it, I knew almost nothing about this once-mighty body of water, situated between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. What I learned was downright scary. Since 1960, this gigantic salt-water lake, a mecca for tourists, fishermen, and shippers from all over the former USSR, has lost 90% of its water. That is correct. What remains of this sea is a fading memory and a stark reminder of the destructive power of man. The pictures I have included shed some light on the sad reality of today's Aral Sea.

When the hordes of international leaders leave Bangkok, after trying to find the magic key to stop global warming, maybe they should take a quick trip to the Aral Sea. Then they could head down to Patagonia and check out the shrinking glaciers. Maybe they could jet over to Macchu Picchu, and take a look at another endangered wonder. sometimes you really need to get up close to something that is dying to feel its breath and to truly sense the urgency.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I just read that 120 nations signed onto reducing the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to put in place anti-warming measures...but the U.S. warned it could cause a global recession.

What is worse? A global recession? or no globe anymore? Besides Portland, OR is proving you can go green and still put green in your pocket. What they mean is his Oil boys will have to find another way to embezzle the world.

Anonymous said...

I hope that those 120 nations have the guts to stand up to the real rogue state, which is US, and force him to sign on. Or face the same embargo we put on countries that don't sign on to our ideas and needs.