The Aral seas road to obscurity began in the 1960’s when water was diverted to irrigate farm land. Cotton production was the name of the game. Millions of liters of water which would normally replenish the sea were being used to grow crops in the surrounding desert regions. Today the two rivers are often so drained they are completely dry by the time they get to the Aral Sea.
Of all the crops grown, grain, melons, and so forth, the largest industry was cotton production. The demand for cotton was high, not only with the area, but for exportation purposes too. It was referred to as “white gold”.
Without new water entering the Aral, it began to shrink, becoming more and more salty every year, eventually fish stocks died, fish were washing ashore in mass numbers, unable to live in the salty conditions. The sea was also becoming a center for concentrated pollution. This Pollution came from several sources, one being weapons testing, but additionally there was fertilizer run off and pesticides.
