Brazil drought staunches famed Iguazu Falls
source: http://water-is-life.blogspot.com/2009/05/brazil-drought-staunched-famed-iguazu.html
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- JanforGore
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And now:
Brazil drought staunches famed Iguazu falls
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Brazil_drought_staunches_famed_Iguazu_falls_99...
Excerpt:
"An acute drought in Brazil has hit the famed horseshoe-shaped Igauzu falls which straddle two countries, cutting back the tumbling waters to reveal the rocky sides. Only a third of the usual volume of water is now flowing over the top of the stunning falls, which were listed as a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1984 and border both Brazil and Argentina, Globo television said.
At the foot of the falls on the Brazilian side, the bottom of the Parana river is now clearly visible, allowing environmentalists a rare chance to clean up mountains of accumulated trash.
The falls, which are actually made up of 275 waterfalls stretching some 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles), are taller than the Niagara Falls and twice as wide.
They provide a panoramic backdrop to the tropical rainforest region, with an average of 553 cubic feet of water per second from the Iguazu River thundering some 269 feet over the falls and then draining into the Parana.
Divers have been cleaning up the garbage which has collected in the Parana, finding everything from cameras to combs, CDs and batteries as well as plastic bottles, tin cans and umbrellas.
Some of the trash has floated down river from other towns, but most has been dropped by tourists, said environmentalist Tassio Lima."
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Now this should open your eyes. I have always thought that should these magnificent falls be diminshed that something surely was wrong with the climate balance of this planet. To stand and feel the raw energy and power and see the awe inspiring beauty of these falls is something to aspire to in life. To read these falls are now being diminshed due to drought leaves me sad, and must raise a flag.
We are changing the climate balance of this planet and it is affecting water beyond what I believe we could have comprehended or predicted. How much will we have to see disappear before we comprehend that as a species? And can you imagine, "tourists" throwing their garbage into the river there? Have we become that bereft of all respect for the natural beauty and power of this planet? We have forgotten our place and we are reaping the consequences of it now.
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JanforGore
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And yet in Northern Brazil, the worst rains and floods in decades have driven over 200,000 people from their homes.
excerpt:
"In the jungle city of Altamira, more rain fell in three hours than normally falls in two months, Mayor Odileida Sampaio told the state-run Agencia Brasil news agency.
Even as rains pounded the north, parts of southern Brazil are suffering through a two-month drought that has dried up the famed Iguazu falls, one of South America's leading tourist attractions, to less than a third of normal volume.
Some environmentalists said the Amazon wouldn't be hurt by the floods because the rain forest and its inhabitants have endured them for centuries.
But Paulo Barreto, a researcher at the Amazon Institute of People and the Environment, said the flooding comes just four years after a major drought. He blamed climate change and said such events put stress on the environment "that could affect the survival of plant and animal species".
end of excerpt.
- 3 years ago
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JanforGore
