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Central Asia's Aral Sea is rapidly shrinking due to the loss of recharge water and a high rate of evaporation. Islands are appearing and as the sea level continues to drop, more of the sea floor is exposed. Since 1960, most of the fresh water has been diverted for agriculture, and salinity levels have steadily increased. Now rusting hulks of large ships can be found on dry land many miles from the sea they once crossed. Click here, to go to Kazakhstan and view a wonderful photo gallery of the Aral Sea taken by Roman Jashenko in 1996.
Many of the Earth’s ecosystems are stressed and scientists are now aware that the degradation of these systems is not necessarily linear.
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At a certain point, these systems may collapse. Moreover, the collapse may be self-sustaining. Will the Aral Sea disappear? If so, what effect will that have on other local and global ecosystems?
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INTERDEPENDENCEThe overriding theme of the Sustainability Project is the interdependence of all living things on Earth. Keeping this in mind, young learners may come to see human actions not only for the good that is apparent but also for the harm that may be done.
The major question raised is: How can we provide for the economic, social, and ecological sustainability of local and global communities?
The project’s themes, as they develop, are not separate. They are always interrelated. They may appear local but they are always global.
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Participants have the opportunity to be part of a growing global learning community where the process of developing and using thinking skills is as important as the knowledge gained.
As David Orr asserts in Earth in Mind "We need people who think broadly and who understand systems, connections, patterns, and root causes."
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