Shocking satellite images of lakes show extent of man's impact on world's water supply

Daily Mail ^ | July 2, 2010 | Staff

[C19fan]

These dramatic before-and-after satellite photos show the terrifying effect man is having on the world's resources.

Taken over nearly 40 years, photographs show the drying up of several bodies of water around the world - receding as mankind's demand for water grows. Included in the shocking collection is the once mighty Aral Sea in Central Asia. The expanse of water, like several others across the globe, has been reduced to worryingly sparse levels. In April the situation at the Aral Sea was described as 'one of the planet's worst environmental disasters' by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.

[C19fan]

Pretty shocking what happened in past 10 years. The sea is basically gone.

[PGalt]

The drying is due to overuse of the lake's feeder rivers. In the 1960s the former Soviet Union diverted the Syr Darya and Amu Darya for the irrigation of cotton and paddy fields.

Interesting. Thanks for posting.

[relictele]

Yes and the land bridge that connected the British Isles is under water now.

Changes happen. The earth and its climate (including the distribution of water) are not static.

[LibLieSlayer]

Try to stop them... go ahead... see how communsists treat greenies.

LLS

[cripplecreek]

The soviets did massive damage.

Lets see some photos of the great lakes over the last 30 years so we can compare the damage done by evil capitalist America.

[G Larry]

This has NOTHING to do with warming ANYTHING!!!

This is a combined result of poisining, draining, diverting, and general apathy.

[relictele]

connected the Isles to Europe that is.

[ClearCase_guy]

I have noticed a strong trend among the Greens -- carbon has receded as a focal point and water has taken its place. Humans used to be bad because we produced too much carbon, which warmed the planet and would eventually kill us all. As the fraud of Global Warming has become apparent, they've shifted the storyline. Now, humans are bad because we use too much water, which causes shortages, and will eventually kill us all.

No matter the "problem", the solution always seems to be that people should live in caves, eat moldy berries, and be dead by age 25.

[prisoner6]

The same image shows how dramatically the water has receded in just 20 years. The rivers were drained to provide agricultural land

So, the water isn't so much gone as it has been spread out for irrigation rather than concentrated in the lake. I would also guess that would lead to more evaporation which would also reduce the level of the lake.

prisoner6

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1291433/Shocking-extent-mans-impact-worlds-water.html#ixzz0sWiw309O

[ripley]

And the answer is?

[riri]

Isn’t water pretty much a zero sum game?

[jersey117]

Global obamacare.

[beebuster2000]

you forgot to mention the shocking development that glaciers that once covered north america are GONE!!! Gone i tell you, all gone !! Now all we have is dirt !!!

[Buckeye Battle Cry]

The planet has the same amount of water on it that it did millions of years ago. It changes places and forms constantly, but it’s the same volume of water. If it has left these lakes in China due to poor land and water management that just means it has relocated elsewhere.

[Buckeye Battle Cry]

The planet has the same amount of water on it that it did millions of years ago. It changes places and forms constantly, but it’s the same volume of water. If it has left these lakes in China due to poor land and water management that just means it has relocated elsewhere.

[Buckeye Battle Cry]

The planet has the same amount of water on it that it did millions of years ago. It changes places and forms constantly, but it’s the same volume of water. If it has left these lakes in China due to poor land and water management that just means it has relocated elsewhere.

[TomGuy]

Areas are drying up?

Just months ago, before the globull email revelations, we were being warned that coastal regions were going to flood due to melting glaciers.

'There has not been much change in rainfall in those areas but the temperature has risen by over 1 degree Centigrade since 1970, which will have enhanced losses due to evaporation.

But, if moisture evaporates, does it not go into the air and fall elsewhere as rain?

Is water a diminishing resource? If so, then how will the coastal lands flood?

Maybe they can develop an afterschool special to explain this.

[listenhillary]

Unless the aliens are stealing it.

[Alberta's Child]

Very interesting. These stories only begin to touch on the complexity of water systems. In these cases the water isn't disappearing at all . . . it's just not sitting in the same places where it used to be. Diverting water from one place to another doesn't make the water disappear.

Here's an interesting item that I almost overlooked:

Dr Lloyd-Hughes added: "There has been a 30% reduction in annual rainfall since 1900 in these regions but not a significant change in temperature." Reductions in lake levels here seem to driven by reductions in rainfall rather than increased evaporation.

If rainfall has declined by 30% in the last 110 years, I imagine it is going to have some impact on water levels in bodies of fresh water.

[NavyCanDo]

THE HEADLINE IS BOGUS

This has nothing to do with the “Worlds Water Supply” - and has every thing to do with Russians mismanaging the water supply to this lake.

• As water has been drained from the rivers for farming, the sea’s water has become much saltier.

• As more water has been taken from the rivers, the sea’s water level has decreased by over 60%.

http://www.orexca.com/aral_sea.shtml