HUMAN ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION CHAPTER 15 PART 3

THE ARAL SEA

Now (2009) and Then (1961)

WHERE THERE ONCE WAS A SEA, NOW THERE IS A DESERT.

Impact on Health In Nukus, the capital of Karakalpakia, since 1988…  cases of kidney and liver diseases have increased 30 fold  cases of arthritic diseases have increased 60 fold  cases of chronic bronchitis have increased 30 fold  20% of young women aged have kidney diseases  23% of young women aged have thyroid dysfunctions  80% of all women suffer from anemia (nearly all hemorrhage while giving birth resulting in one of the highest maternal mortality rates on Earth) oneworld.org

LAKE BAIKAL

Lake Baikal is called the Pearl of Siberia

It is the oldest and deepest lake in the world.

The ice on the lake is so thick that….

You can drive a truck across it in the winter!

THERE IS BOTH A ROAD AND RAILROAD TRACK USED BY TRAVELERS ACROSS THE LAKE IN WINTER

Lake Baikal is also home to the world’s only fresh water seal.

The waters of the lake have been kept clear of pollution through a comprehensive government program to monitor paper factories and their emissions.

OTHER POLLUTION PROBLEMS IN NORTHERN EURASIA  THE FOLLOWING SLIDES ILLUSTRATE OTHER REGIONS OF NORTHERN EURASIA AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES. MANY OF THESE EXAMPLES RESULT FROM LITTLE OR NO POLLUTION CONTROLS AND NO INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION DURING THE SOVIET YEARS FROM

Natural gas processing plant at Yamburg on the Tazovskiy Peninsula- high pressure hoses shoot hot water to melt the permafrost and thus aid construction. This is also called “thermal pollution”

Steel plant in Novokuznetsk

“Bouquet of Magnitka” Magnitogorsk - home of the world’s largest steel mill

Acid rain damaged forests in Russian Lapland

Near Siauliai airfield in Lithuania, some residents heat their homes with kerosene skimmed from springwater.

IN 1986, A NUCLEAR REACTOR IN CHERNOBYL, UKRAINE EXPLODED AND BURNED

Prypyat- the town built for Chernobyl personnel- was evacuated on April 28, two days after the explosion.

YEARS AFTER THE EXPLOSION…  FARMLAND IN AREAS WEST, INCLUDING POLAND AND THE CZECH REPUBLIC HAD TO BE ABANDONED  CHILDREN BORN IN THE REGION SUFFERED FROM BIRTH DEFECTS  ADULTS IN THE AREA CONTRACTED CANCERS AND OTHER RADIATION DISEASES

1988 outbreak of alopecia in Chernivtsi

 THE LAND IN NORTHERN EURASIA STILL SHOWS THE SCARS OF NUCLEAR UNDERGROUND TESTS CONDUCTED IN THE COLD WAR YEARS.

Atomic Lake- 65 southwest of Semey- a reservoir created by a shallow underground nuclear device detonated here in 1965.

 ANOTHER CHANGE TO THE ENVIRONMENT WAS THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE TRANS- SIBERIAN RAILROAD THAT LINKED MOSCOW WITH SIBERIA.

Traveling from Moscow to Vladivostok, passengers on the Trans-Siberian Railway cross seven time zones and cover more than 9,300 kilometers (more than 5,779 miles). Until the railroad’s construction, from 1891 to 1904, settlers in Siberia were mainly criminals and political refugees. Later, large numbers of people migrated to the region, and industry developed along the rail route.

 WATCH THESE TWO MOVIE CLIPS FOR OTHER ADAPTATIONS FOR THOSE LIVING AND WORKING IN SIBERIA.

A Russian Freeway

 This Russian federal freeway goes from Moscow to Yakutsk in Siberia.  This road has no asphalt, even if it is an essential road.  Every time it is raining, the road is paralyzed. These photos were taken some days before approximately 600 cars remained bogged down here. The hunger and the lack of gasoline followed. According to witnesses, a woman gave birth in a public bus.  The teams of construction are afraid of going on this site because, during a previous visit, some were beaten by people who had remained stuck during several days. People broke cars in search of food and of warm clothes.  The gasoline, the food, the firearms and the cables of steel are the most vital foodstuffs on this federal road. Oh, and the patience!!!

Then, the next time when you will complain about road conditions in your country, think of the Russians !