Disappearance of Bolivia's No. 2 lake a harbinger

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http://bigstory.ap.org/article/867659e34643474988d1bcf3447e60e8/disappearance-bolivias-no-2-lake-harbinger

Source:  By Carlos Valdez, AP
For Investigation:   10.3

Excerpt: UNTAVI, Bolivia (AP) —  ...Lake Poopo was officially declared evaporated last month. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people have lost their livelihoods and gone. ...the shallow saline lake has essentially dried up before only to rebound to twice the area of Los Angeles. But recovery may no longer be possible, scientists say. "This is a picture of the future of climate change," says Dirk Hoffman, a German glaciologist who studies how rising temperatures from the burning of fossil fuels has accelerated glacial melting in Bolivia. As Andean glaciers disappear so do the sources of Poopo's water. But other factors are in play in the demise of Bolivia's second-largest body of water behind Lake Titicaca. Drought caused by the recurrent El Nino meteorological phenomenon is considered the main driver. Authorities say another factor is the diversion of water from Poopo's tributaries, mostly for mining but also for agriculture....

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