Disaster by Design
eBook - PDF

Disaster by Design

The Aral Sea and Its Lessons for Sustainability

  1. 300 pages
  2. English
  3. PDF
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

Disaster by Design

The Aral Sea and Its Lessons for Sustainability

About this book

Disaster by Design: The Aral Sea, Lessons for Sustainability addresses the impacts of the Aral Sea disaster. The virtual disappearance of what was the world's fourth largest inland body of water was neither natural nor accidental. It was the result of deliberate policy decisions. The sea's disappearance is hardly the entire disaster. Instead, we find an accumulation of cascading effects, beginning with the decision to grow cotton, reached remotely in Moscow that altered the farming practices surrounding the Aral Sea. Unsustainable choices resulted in soil salinization, water pollution and toxic blowing sands, impacting the entire bioregion and beyond. A remote island was used to test biological weapons. Uzbekistan, most notably Karakalpakstan, was the autonomous republic at the epicenter of the disaster. Sustainable prospects exist, including renewable energy, permaculture and strengthening the social fabric amidst poverty and ecological collapse. This volume of Research in Social Problems and Public Policy is essential reading for everyone concerned with averting environmental disaster and instead creating livable, sustainable communities. Disaster by Design is a clarion call and an insightful study of Central Asia today.

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Yes, you can access Disaster by Design by Michael R. Edelstein, Astrid Cerny, Abror Gadaev, Michael R. Edelstein,Astrid Cerny,Abror Gadaev in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Biological Sciences & Ecology. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. FRONT COVER
  2. DISASTER BY DESIGN: THE ARAL SEA AND ITS LESSONS FOR SUSTAINABILITY
  3. COPYRIGHT PAGE
  4. CONTENTS
  5. LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
  6. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  7. MAPS OF UZBEKISTAN AND THE GREATER ARAL SEA REGION
  8. LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES
  9. LIST OF MAPS
  10. PREFACE
  11. SECTION ONE – THE MULTIPLE DISASTERS OF THE ARAL SEA
  12. SECTION TWO – THE ARAL DISASTER IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
  13. SECTION THREE – COTTON, COTTON EVERYWHERE, BUT NOT A DROP TO DRINK: AGRICULTURE AS THE VILLAIN
  14. SECTION FOUR – ADAPTING TO CATASTROPHE: CASCADING SOCIAL IMPACTS OF THE ARAL SEA DISASTER
  15. SECTION FIVE – DESIGNING SOLUTIONS: SOCIAL, ECOLOGICAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL APPROACHES
  16. SECTION SIX – LESSONS OF THE ARAL SEA DISASTER: IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL LEARNING
  17. ABOUT THE AUTHORS