3,000 Sinkholes Around Dead Sea; #s Growing Exponentially As Lake Continues To Shrink

[hatrack]

There are more than 3,000 sinkholes on the banks of the Dead Sea -- and they're multiplying exponentially, according to environmentalists, as the body of water dries up.

"It's nature's revenge," said Gidon Bromberg, the Israeli Director at EcoPeace Middle East, an organization that brings together Jordanian, Palestinian and Israeli environmentalists to protect their shared environmental heritage. "These sinkholes are a direct result of the inappropriate mismanagement of water resources in the region."

More than 1,400 feet below sea level, the Dead Sea is the lowest point on land. The first sinkhole was spotted in the 1980s. By 1990, there were 40, and 15 years later new chasms are breaking open every day.

"They could develop overnight. Or over time," Bromberg said. "Making them unpredictable. And very dangerous."

EDIT

http://abcnews.go.com/International/massive-sinkholes-break-open-dead-sea-shrivels/story?id=29671903&cid=fb_wn_sf

[hunter]

1. Well, there's always this...

Red Sea–Dead Sea Canal

The Red Sea–Dead Sea Conduit (Canal), sometimes called the Two Seas Canal, is a proposed conduit (pipes and brine canal) which would run from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea. It will provide potable water to Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories, bring sea water to stabilise the Dead Sea water level and generate electricity to support the energy needs of the project. This proposal has a role in plans to create institutions for economic cooperation between Israelis, Jordanians and Palestinians, in the Dead Sea and through the Peace Valley plan.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Sea%2DDead_Sea_Canal