ssmusic214 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

Nonsense!Nobody ever used Aral Sea Water to irrigate anything. The FRESH waters of Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers were used to irrigate cotton and rice crops hundreds of kilometers upstream from Aral Sea. Which caused to reduce and in some years completely cut off inflow of fresh water in Aral Sea.

MariusSemeonOrtiz (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

ssmusic214, of course it wasn't always salty. Why do you think it was used to irrigate the fields in the first place!? You can't irrigate with salt water! As i said, it used to be fresh but now due to overextraction, continual pollution and evaporation it is salty enough to be considered salty.

SilencingSin (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

Is it true that the Soviet Union put a whole bunch of live anthrax on the island in the middle of the Aral sea? And that the receding water levels are going to allow the anthrax to cross into the nearby civilizations, and therefore cause a minor outbreak of anthrax that could easily spread and end up as a global pandemic? Because that thought scares the shit out of me...

anthonykgrey (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

Really? an "enormous econimic boom" to So.Cal. Do you really believe yourself? If it was that big of a deal something would be done about it. As you said, the Sea comes and goes, so let it go, so it can back already. Yes we should desalinate, as soon as you raise the money and get it all set up we will start with Mono Lake and work our way down. You said LA and SD should decongest, explain how. As far as a my "stake" goes, I am in it for my piece of the enormous economic boom you spoke of.

mojave19 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

Even if the Salton Sea were artificial, the birds & people who rely on its safety are not. There are tens of thousands of people living along the shores and downwind of the Salton Sea who would suffer from its desiccated 14 x 35 miles of sea bed. Reference the U.S. Geologic Survey studies on the effects of much smaller Owens Lake when it was sucked dry by LA Dept of Water & Power. You may not, Rich, but most people give a damn about humans and other living creatures outside their own bubble.

mojave19 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

You'd said I was confused with the Delta; obviously 500 Youtube characters aren't enough to elaborate on "CA's Everglades" so I referenced those with the best (though never absolute) credentials. That simple. Why so hostile, Grey? What's your stake? A restored Salton Sea would be an enormous economic boom to So. CA. Anally speaking, it's actually "The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California" but its headquarters are in Los Angeles which possibly might influence their interests.

anthonykgrey (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

That's interesting propaganda. After working side by side with "scientist" I trust them even less than you. So I am supposted to believe because they say so? oh my God its on the internet it must be true. "Leading authorites", because they say they are, or because they need another grant to "study" a hyper saline puddle that has zero benifit to our lives. Also, there no such thing as the "Los Angeles Metropolitan Water District" BUT there is the Metropolitan Water District. Get a job please.

ssmusic214 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

Wrong!Aral sea ALWAYS was salty. Just like any other body of water that has no other natural water outflaw.

richsordahl (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

Yeah, dude...the Salton Sea is man-made. Who gives a damn if it dries up. It didn't belong there to begin with. Another thing for all you environmentalists out there...the planet has and always will be in flux. You can't "freeze" it for your enjoyment. Where it is cold today will one day be hot. Where it is hot today will one day be cold. Just go live your lives and quit worrying about this crap.

thuthmosis (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

Mojave 19 you act as if the The Salton is supposed to be there. It is a manmade lake, its evaporation is a return to normality.