Earth Balloon®

The following is one of many topics covered during an Earth Balloon visit.

The Fragile Earth: The earth is changing due to mankind's misuse of our planet. Areas that have undergone environmental change because of man.

1. Aral Sea

• Until the 1960's was a main source of fish/seafood for Russia.
• In 1960 there were 24 native fish species in the Aral Sea, today there are none.
• The water going into the Aral Sea has been used for irrigation since the 1930's (cotton). In 1956 construction of the world's largest canal was completed and began to divert water from the Aral Sea to irrigation purposes.
• The Aral Sea First showed signs of trouble (water depletion) in 1960.
• The Aral Sea was once the 4th largest lake in the world. It is now 6th.
• Muynak, an important fish processing center and port city in 1960 is now 25 miles from the shore of the Aral Sea.
• Since 1960 it has lost 40% of it's surface area. This area (11,000 square miles) has become a salt encrusted wasteland.
• Today salt and sand storms are a problem in the area. Wind blown salt and grit from this region reaches parts of the Arctic. 43 million tons of salty grit are blown out annually.

Lessons Learned:

If your grandparents had visited the Aral Sea 40 years ago they would have looked out over the vast expanse of water and never imagined that it could be a wasteland in their lifetime. The earth is fragile - even seemingly healthy areas can change in only a matter of a few years. We need to treat the land with respect so it will be healthy for future generations to enjoy.

2. Madagascar

• Madagascar has 10,000 varieties of flowering plants, most found only in Madagascar.
• 400 species of reptiles and amphibians, 388 of which cannot be found anywhere else on the earth.
• Half of it's birds and nearly all of it's native mammals cannot be found elsewhere on earth.
• Madagascar has 1000 unique species of orchids. Plants such as Madagascar Periwinkles are used for medicine. The periwinkles are used in drugs that help with childhood leukemia.
• In the past 25 years Madagascar's population has doubled from 5.4 million to 10.3 million.
• 4/5 of Madagascar's woodlands are now barren, Burned over by sustenance farmers and herders.
• Madagascar's rain forests have shrunk 50% since 1950.
• Madagascar's forests are being cut down for farmland that supports crops for only 2-3 years. Because the people are poor and can't afford kerosene they cut the forests to get wood to make charcoal.
• Madagascar is the place where the greatest number of species is facing the greatest danger of extinction.

Lessons Learned:

The island of Madagascar can be likened to a laboratory with it's varied plant and animal life. It's important that people in lands like Madagascar be educated to be stewards of the land rather than abusers of the land.

3. Haiti

• When Christopher Columbus first saw the island of Hispaniola where Haiti is located he called it the most beautiful island in the world.
• In 1920, 65% of Haiti was covered by lush forest. Today less than 5% is covered by forest.
• Today in Haiti there are only 6 areas of forested region that are larger than 20 square miles.
• People cut the forest down to plant crops and for fuel (charcoal).

Lessons Learned:

Haiti shares the island of Hispaniola with it's neighbor the Dominican Republic. While the Dominican Republic has taken relative care of it's portion of the island, Haiti, unfortunately has not. The result is that Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and will likely remain so, because of their lack of natural resources.

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