RUSSIAN scientists are reviving an old Soviet plan to divert some of Siberia’s mightiest rivers to the parched former Soviet republics of central Asia. Its backers say it will solve a growing water crisis in the region and replenish the now desiccated Aral Sea, once the world’s fourth-largest inland sea.
The $40 billion scheme could also gain international support. Recent increases in the flows of Siberia’s rivers, probably due to global warming, have raised fears that a less salty Arctic Ocean could shut down the Gulf Stream and trigger icy winters across Europe. Diverting part of the flow of the rivers could prevent that. But some experts…
