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Aral Sea
The Changing
World is a weekly series of documentaries that
takes the time to explore multiple aspects of a single global issue. Please visit their site (http://www.thechangingworld.org) and subscribe to their podcast: http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheChangingWorldFromBbcAndPri
It is barely fifteen years since Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan,
Tajikistan and Turkmenistan emerged from Soviet rule. These nations are
now all facing enormous environmental problems. The BBC's Central Asia
editor monitors the Soviet environmental legacy in this region, on this
edition of The Changing World.
====>Click to hear "A Witches' Brew part 1"
This documentary explores some of the crucial ecological issues in a
region which boasts some of the most stunning scenery in the world. The
BBC's Firdevs Robinson visits Lake Issy Kul in Kyrgyzstan, which was
once used for testing Soviet torpedoes. She also travels to the south of
Kyrgyzstan, to Mayli-suu, where landslides are threatening to spread
uranium pollution through the fertile rivers of the Fergana Valley, home
to more than six million people.
====>Click to hear "A Witches' Brew part 2"
This documentary produced for the BBC World Service focuses on the state
of the Aral Sea in the deserts of Kazakhstan. For decades, the Aral Sea
has been shrinking, as water from nearby rivers was diverted into cotton
production. But now a new dam is bringing fresh life to the Aral. And as
the water levels are rising, so too are the hopes of the fishermen who
live by its shores.
Copyright © 2006, 2007 BBC World Service, All Rights Reserved
The Devil and the Disappearing Sea
A True Crime Story About the Aral Sea Catastrophe
The
Writer's Cafe is a great site where you can hear interviews of
Authors on a wide variety of subjects. Please visit their site (http://www.writerscafe.ca/homepage.php) and
subscribe to their RSS feeds.
====>Click to hear "The Devil and the Disappearing Sea"
Listen to this interview of author Rob Ferguson as he
speaks about his book:
The Devil and the Disappearing Sea
A True Crime Story About the Aral Sea Catastrophe
Copyright © 2006, 2007 Rob Ferguson, All Rights Reserved
http://www.bbc.co.uk/
Please visit the BBC website for many high quality news reports: http://www.bbc.co.uk/
====>Click to View "Loan to Help Save Aral Sea" 9 Apr 2007
The Kazakhstan government has secured a multi-million dollar loan to help save the Aral Sea.
====>Click to View "New Dam Hope for Shrinking Sea" 18 May 2005
A new dam project is being hailed as the
last hope of survival for the rapidly shrinking Aral Sea in Central
Asia. The 13km dam will separate the smaller northern part of the sea
from the larger Southern Aral Sea. Jim Fish reports.
Copyright © 2005-2007 BBC, All Rights Reserved
Aral, Caspian Seas Remain Under Ecological Threat
By Lisa McAdams
Moscow
18 March 2005
Please visit the Voice of America site: http://www.voanews.com/english/portal.cfm
====>Click to hear "Aral, Caspian Seas Remain Under Ecological Threat"
[Note: Realplayer needed to hear this audio: Click Here to Download a Free Copy]
The Soviet Union was home to two of the world's largest inland bodies of
water, the Aral and Caspian Seas. Once offering up abundant examples of
nature's grace, both seas are now dying. In the case of the Aral Sea,
the cause is agricultural mismanagement, while in the Caspian it is
pollution and oil development. There are mixed views on whether the seas
can be saved.
Copyright © 2005-2007 Voice of America, All Rights Reserved
Remembering the Gulf: Changes in the Sea of Cortez since Steinbeck and Ricketts' 1940 Expedition by Raphael D. Sagarin, Ph.D.
====>Click to hear "Changes in the Sea of Cortez" Part 1
====>Click to hear "Changes in the Sea of Cortez" Part 2
====>Click to hear "Changes in the Sea of Cortez" Q & A
Sunday, February 11, 2006, 5:00 pm, Raphael D. Sagarin, Ph.D.,
Remembering the Gulf: Changes in the Sea of Cortez since Steinbeck and
Ricketts' 1940 Expedition
One of the most well-known biological expeditions is the 1940 trip to
the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California) by author John Steinbeck and his
close friend Edward F. Ricketts, a professional biologist. Steinbeck and
Ricketts visited 20 tidepool sites spread across the Gulf and made
extensive collections while taking notes on the fauna and natural
history of the region.
In 2004 Raphael retraced the Steinbeck and Ricketts journey, visiting
the same sites during the same time of year. Using the extensive
scientific and literary records made by Steinbeck and Ricketts as a
historical baseline, they were able to show massive ecological changes
to Sea of Cortez since 1940. These changes affect the tidepool and open
water species as well as the coastal human communities of Mexico.
Steinbeck and Ricketts were ahead of their time in terms of thinking
about the connections between all aspects of a natural system. By
putting their work in historical and global context, we can see how
changes to the Sea of Cortez are directly tied to devastating changes
scientists are observing throughout the Earth's oceans.
Raphael Sagarin, Ph.D., is Associate Director for Ocean and Coastal
Policy at the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at
Duke University
=============
This Event was organized by The Chapel Hill Institute for Cultural and
Language Education (CHICLE): Please visit there website
(http://www.chi-cle.com) and subscribe to their email list of cultural
events:
CHICLE is a full-service, locally owned language institute located in
Chapel Hill/Carrboro, North Carolina. We benefit from our location near
the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and are able to teach a
wide variety of languages, as well as some advanced classes that combine
language and literature. We have an excellent program for both children
and adults. Telephone: (919) 933-0398; Email: chicle@chi-cle.com
During the talk the point is made of purchasing sustainable fish. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Website can help in your next
seafood purchase. Another organization, the Marine
Stewardship Council (MSC) works to safeguard the world's seafood
supply by promoting the best environmental choice.
Look for this label:
Copyright © 2006, 2007 Raphael D. Sagarin, Ph.D., All Rights Reserved
NPR's "The Story": Reading the Sea Of Cortez
Thank you very much to NPR's "The Story" with Dick Gordon for permission
to link to their radio program. Please visit their webpage to
hear many other audio programs: http://thestory.org Also subscribe to
their podcast via their RSS feed:
http://www.thestory.org/archive/podcast.xml
====>Click to hear "Reading the Sea Of Cortez" Date: February 13, 2007
Dick Gordon talks with Raphael D. Sagarin about the changes in the Sea of Cortez. Dr. Sagarin argues that
the kinds of observations Steinbeck and Ricketts recorded 70 years ago
now provide critical data in understanding environmental changes like
global warming. His conversation with Dick also shows that science and
literature may have something to offer one another.
Please visit their website for a complete description of the interview: http://thestory.org/archive/
Copyright © 2006, 2007 American Public Media, All Rights Reserved
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