TRAVERSE CITY (AP) - Peter Annin recalls staring in fascinated horror at what had been the coast of the Aral Sea in Uzbekistan, now a desolate wasteland strewn with scrub brush and corroded hulls of abandoned fishing boats.
Once the world's fourth-largest inland water body, the Aral has shrunk to a quarter of its previous surface area in less than half a century - the result of a Soviet-era decision to divert rivers feeding the sea to promote farming in that arid section of central Asia.
Annin visited the region while researching his book, "The Great Lakes Water Wars," published by Island Press and scheduled for release Sept. 14. The former Newsweek magazine correspondent says he'd heard ominous references to the Aral disaster while studying the debate over Great Lakes water diversion and wanted to see it for himself.
Posted by Dave at September 7, 2006 08:39 AM