Paragraphs for Research Answer

Erik Sjstrm

Why is the Aral Sea shrinking? What are the effects and causes? How can we prevent it?

Introduction/Background
The Aral Sea was once the 4th largest body of water in the world. But it is now shrinking. The lake is the boundary between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The lake is of great interest to scientist because of the remarkable shrinkage. Its visible from space and you can see how its shrinking from up there. It is known as the worlds worst ecological disaster caused by man.

Why is the Aral Sea shrinking?

The reason the Aral Sea is shrinking is because the water going to the sea is used in other places. Its primarily due to diversion of the Syr Darya and Amu Darya rivers, which means that the water doesnt go to the place it should. These two rivers are the main sources of water to the Aral Sea. Because of irrigation problems, the area is growing cotton, and they take water from the rivers, which means the water never reaches the sea.

Effects
The lake was once used for fishing, this industry is not functional anymore and that has led to unemployment. The fishes could not survive in the water, because of all the salt and mineral contents. The climate around the Aral Sea became more extreme. The health cost to people around the Aral Sea has been increasing, but the hardest is for the people in the How can we prevent it? southern part of the region. World Bank has built a dam, and since that (2005) the sea has slowly been recovering. Unfortunately the recovering will take a long time, and not all water will come back. But this is a sign of light, and the locals have a lot of hope and they think the sea will come back.

Conclusion
The Aral Sea is a world disaster. The people around the sea suffer. Thousands of dollars has been spent to fix it, and World Bank seems to have succeeded. The dam is a light of hope. And maybe one day we will see the sea as it used to be. But that will take a long time.

Sources
"Aral Sea." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 05 Oct. 2012. Web. 14 May 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aral_Sea>. Gray, Louise. Will the Aral Sea Ever Return? The Telegraph. Web. <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/kazakhstan/9012718/Willthe-Aral-Sea-ever-return.html>. Lloyd-Roberts, Sue, and Ethirajan Anbarasan. The Aral Sea: Back from the Brink?. UNESCO Courier (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). Jan. 2000: 10-13. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 26 Apr 2012. LoVer, AnlmAI. What Happened to the Aral Sea? Yahoo! Answers. Yahoo! Web. 30 Apr. 2012. <http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090429032527AAt5VJ5>. "Aral Sea Homepage." Aral Sea Homepage. Web. 14 May 2012. <http://nailaokda.8m.com/aral.html>.