Why Is the Aral Sea Shrinking

The Aral Sea is located between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and was once the fourth largest lake in the world. Scientists believe it was formed about 5.5 million years ago when geologic uplift prevented two rivers—Amu Darya and Syr Darya—from flowing to their final destinations.   The Aral Sea used to have an area of 26,300 sq miles and produce thousands of tons of fish for the local economy annually. But since the 1960s, it has been catastrophically shrinking. The Main Cause—Soviet Canals In the 1940s, the European USSR was going through a widespread drought and famine, and as a result, Stalin launched what is known as the Great Plan for the Transformation of Nature. Its purpose was to improve the overall agriculture of the country. The Soviet Union turned lands of the Uzbek SSR into cotton plantations—which operated on a system of forced labor—and ordered the construction of irrigation canals to provide water to the crops in the middle of the plateau of the region.   These hand-dug, irrigation canals moved water from the Anu Darya and Syr Darya rivers, the same rivers that fed the freshwater into the Aral Sea. Even though the irrigation wasnt very efficient and a lot of water leaked or evaporated in the process, the system of canals, rivers, and the Aral Sea were fairly stable until the 1960s.   However, in that same decade, the Soviet Union decided to expand the canal system and drain more water from the two rivers, suddenly draining the Aral Sea considerably. The Destruction of the Aral Sea Thus, in the 1960s, the Aral Sea began shrinking quite rapidly, with the lakes level dropping 20-35 inches yearly. By 1987, it dried up so much that instead of one lake, there were now two: the Large Aral (south) and the Small Aral (north).   While up to 1960, the water level was about 174 ft above sea level, it suddenly dropped to 89 ft in the Large Lake and 141 in the Small Lake. Yet, the world wasnt aware of this tragedy up until 1985; the Soviets kept the facts secret. In the 1990s, after gaining independence, Uzbekistan changed their way of exploiting the land, but their new cotton policy contributed to the further shrinkage of the Aral Sea. At the same time, the top and bottom waters of the lake were not mixing well, which caused the salinity levels to be highly uneven, thus allowing the water to evaporate from the lake even faster. As a result, in 2002, the southern lake shrunk and dried up to become an eastern lake and a western lake, and in 2014, the eastern lake completely evaporated and disappeared, leaving behind the desert called Aralkum, instead.   End of the Fishing Industry The Soviet Union was aware of some of the threats their economic decision posed to the Aral Sea and its region, but they regarded the cotton crops as far more valuable than the areas fishing economy. Soviet leaders also felt the Aral Sea was unneeded since the water that flowed in basically evaporated with nowhere to go. Prior to the evaporation of the lake, the Aral Sea produced about 20,000 to 40,000 tons of fish a year.  This was reduced to a low of 1,000 tons of fish a year at the height of the crisis. And today, instead of supplying food to the region, the shores have become ship graveyards, a curiosity for occasional travelers. If you happen to visit the former coastal towns and villages around the Aral Sea, youll be able to witness the long-abandoned piers, harbors, and boats. Restoring the Northern Aral Sea In 1991, the Soviet Union was disbanded, and Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan became the new official homes to the vanishing Aral Sea. Since then, Kazakhstan, along with UNESCO and a multitude of other organizations, have been working to resuscitate  the Aral Sea. Kok-Aral Dam The first innovation that helped save part of the Aral Sea fishing industry was Kazakhstans construction of the Kok-Aral Dam on the southern shore of the northern lake, thanks to support from the World Bank. Since the end of its construction in 2005, this dam has helped the northern lake to grow. Before its construction, the sea was 62 miles away from Aralsk, a port city, but it started growing back, and in 2015 the sea was only 7.5 miles away from the port town. Other Initiatives The second innovation has been the construction of the Komushbosh Fish Hatchery at the northern lake where they raise and stock the northern Aral Sea with  sturgeon, carp, and flounder. The hatchery was built with a grant from Israel.   Predictions are that thanks to those two major innovations, the northern lake of the Aral Sea could produce  10,000 to 12,000 tons a fish a year. Low Hopes for the Western Sea However, with the damming of the northern lake in 2005, the fate of the southern two lakes was nearly sealed and the autonomous northern Uzbek region of  Karakalpakstan will continue to suffer as the western lake continues to vanish.   Nonetheless, cotton still continues to be grown in Uzbekistan. As if following in the old USSR traditions, the country comes near a standstill during the harvest season, and almost every citizen is forced to volunteer each year.   Environmental and Human Catastrophe Besides the sad fact that the Aral Sea has been disappearing, its huge, dried-up lakebed is also a source of disease-causing dust that blows throughout the region.   The dried remnants of the lake contain not only salt and minerals but also pesticides like DDT that were once used in huge quantities by the Soviet Union (ironically, to make up for the lack of water). Additionally, the USSR once had a biological-weapons testing facility on one of the lakes within the Aral Sea.  Although now closed, the chemicals used at the facility help to make the destruction of the Aral Sea one of the great environmental  catastrophes  of human history. As a result, the entire ecosystem is affected, and it will take years to restore. Few crops grow in this region, furthering the use of pesticides and contributing to the vicious cycle. The fishing industry, as mentioned, has almost completely disappeared, also affecting other animals that used to live in this location. On a human level, because of the poor economy, people were forced into heavy poverty or they had to move. Toxins are present in the drinking water and have entered the food chain. Coupled with the scarcity of resources, this puts at risk the most vulnerable groups, and women and children of the region tend to suffer from many diseases. However, in 2000, UNESCO published a Water-Related Vision for the Aral Sea Basin for the Year 2025. It is considered to be the basis for positive actions that would lead to securing a bright and sustainable future for the Aral Sea region. With the other positive developments, there is perhaps hope for this unusual lake and the life dependent on it. Sources â€Å"UNESCO Launches New Aral Sea Basin Initiative.†Ã‚  UNESCO.Micklin, Philip, and Nikolay V. Aladin. â€Å"Reclaiming the Aral Sea.†Ã‚  Scientific American, vol. 298, no. 4, 2008, pp. 64–71.â€Å"Kazakhstan: Measuring the Northern Aral.†Ã‚  Stephenmbland, 2015.Greenberg, Ilan. â€Å"As a Sea Rises, So Do Hopes for Fish, Jobs, and Riches.†Ã‚  The New York Times, The New York Times, 6 Apr. 2006.â€Å"Water-Related Vision for the Aral Sea Basin for the Year 2025.†Ã‚  Unesdoc.unesco.org, UNESCO, Imprimerie Des Presses Universitaires De France, 2000.

Positive And Negative Impacts Of Youth Sport - 2482 Words

Each year, millions and millions of American children participate in one or more organized youth sport, both in the public and private sector (Coakley 2009). Youth sport has become an important part of our society as more and more children get involved in the complexity of sports. There are many benefits that come with the participation in youth sport including an increase in self-esteem, increase in confidence, moral development, better grades earned, reduced dropout among participants, fewer problems outside the classroom, increase in physical activity and decrease in obesity and health problems among others (Donaldson and Ronan 2006). With participation in youth sport also comes an increase in sports-related injuries, burnout, increased stress, and a need to achieve unrealistic expectations placed upon by parents and coaches (Coakley 2009). 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The Communist Manifesto, by Karl Marx - 864 Words

Marx’s ideals of communism were drawn from the realization that the cycle of revolutions caused by the class struggles throughout history lead society nowhere. Society as a whole was more and more splitting up into two great hostile camps, into two great classes that were directly facing each other—bourgeoisie and proletariat. According to Marx, in order for society to further itself a mass proletarian revolution would have to occur. The bourgeois, who were the employers and owners of the means of production, composed the majority of the modern capitalists. It was these individuals that controlled the capitalist society by exploiting the labor provided by the proletariats. For example, the bourgeoisie make property into a right†¦show more content†¦Such a large employee workforce was no longer needed, but man was not completely replaced. The machines still needed to be operated which left many people with continued employment, only the addition of competi tion was added to the mix. 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Corporate Social Responsibility for Apple iphone - myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theCorporate Social Responsibility for Apple iphone. Answer: Apples supply chain management has provided the company with flexibility for meeting the fluctuating demand, as ninety percent parts of Apples iphone were being manufactured overseas. Offshore outsourcing however, helped in reducing operation costs of Apple, but it decreased the companys control as well as monitoring over the manufacturing practices and processes. Due to the absence of monitoring, the work procedures of suppliers and employees were very difficult to look after. It also hampered the corporate social responsibilities of the company. With different stakeholders and expectations, it became difficult to manage the consumers demands and satisfaction. It also became hard to manage the buyer and supplier relationship which hampered the companys progress. Moreover, challenges arose when differences in the organizations procedures, questioned its objectives (Fontaine, 2013). Apple was responsible for violating human rights. Foxconn was one of the oldest and biggest suppliers of Apple, which came into limelight when a worker committed suicide due to some issues related to the company. Later that incident, more eighteen workers attempted to commit suicide and fourteen died. Poor working conditions and ill labor practices were the main reasons for this. After the Foxconn incident, another supplier of the company, Pegatron also faced crisis when they used juvenile workforce. Moreover, women rights were violated which was assisted by excessive hours of working, poor working conditions and environmental pollution (Josephs, 2012). It is reasonable for the company to apply various ethical standards in different countries to cut the costs. However, the company must correspond to the countries ethical standards rather than doing whatever they like. The ethical standards of different countries vary because of their different legal, political, social and cultural environments. In the developing countries people mostly care about their welfare and to earn money for feeding their family. Therefore, the company needs high ethical norms in developed countries like United States, Japan and others. For example; they must offer higher rates to the employees. However, in developing countries, with lower social norms and ethics, the company should apply lower standards of ethics and meet the lowest levels of the country (Savitz, 2013). Media plays a key role in shaping Apples corporate social responsibility expectations. Moreover, with the advent of social media it has become much easier. The strategies of media and social media have helped in shaping as well as reshaping the companys CSR expectations. Through transparent and authentic conversations via media and social media, it has become easier to understand the consumers behavior and attitude. It has also become easier to influence them by maintaining a good relationship. Media and social media help in promoting the good works of the company, which in turn proves beneficial for the companys success and growth. Moreover, online networking helps in improving the image of the brand externally. It also boosts the companys morale (Fontaine, 2013). Apple took many steps regarding its corporate social responsibility challenges which are face in the companys supply chain. The company is even working on their issues in order to improve their working conditions and procedures. It is engaging more in monitoring and tracking activities, in order to keep a track on the offshore operations. To regain the control, the company is focusing more on bringing its manufacturing units back to United States. Furthermore, they are trying to stress on robotization and automation in future. They would like to engage in more CSR activities in order to improve their customer base and attain their loyalty (Kesavan, Bernacchi Mascarenhas, 2013). References Fontaine, M. (2013). Corporate social responsibility and sustainability: the new bottom line?.International Journal of Business and Social Science,4(4). Josephs, H. K. (2012). Production Chains and Workplace Law Violations: The Case of Apple and Foxconn.Global Bus. L. Rev.,3, 211. Kesavan, R., Bernacchi, M. D., Mascarenhas, O. A. (2013). Word of mouse: CSR communication and the social media.International Management Review,9(1), 58. Savitz, A. (2013).The triple bottom line: how today's best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success-and how you can too. John Wiley Sons.