How to Destroy a Sea in One Generation

Mother Nature doesn't like a smart ass. ~Bruce Lipton

The Aral Sea: The what? Where? I'm sure I knew its name and whereabouts when I had it on a geography test back in my youth. But I was recently reintroduced to it by Bruce Lipton. He showed a map of the Caspian & Aral Sea. You can see it if you go to Googlemaps. The thing is, if you look at the map, you'll see the Aral Sea. And if you click on the satellite image, you would expect to see this:

Satellite image from 1985.

 Instead, you get this:

Satellite image from 2008.

 Here's another comparison:

It's shocking. Once the size of Ireland, it has shrunk by 90%. You can read more about it here, along with some videos. How could this happen?

The thinking goes like this: let's divert the rivers that lead to the Aral Sea for other things, like cotton farms.  The saline content is rising? The water is receding? Toxic build up of heavy metals and pesticides? No more fishing industry? OOPS.

And there you have it. How to destroy a sea in one generation.