C

　　Something’s happening at the lowest point on our planet.

　　The Dead Sea, a salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and Palestine to the west, is shrinking(缩小) at an alarming rate-----about 3.3 feet per year, according to the environmentalist group EcoPeace Middle East. And human actions are largely to blame.

　　“It’s not just like one country is punishing the Dead Sea; it’s more like the whole area,” said photographer Mortize Kustner, who visited the area in February to work on his series “The Dying Dead Sea”.

　　The Dead Sea needs water from the other natural sources surrounding it, such as the Jordan River basin. But around the 1960s, some of the water sources it relied on were diverted(使改道).Israel, for instance, built a pipeline during that time so it could supply water throughout the country.

　　Mineral extraction(开采) industries are another main reason the water levels are falling, experts say. The Dead Sea’s minerals have been used as medicine and can often be found in cosmetics(化妆品) and other consumer products.

　　And then, of course, there’s the Middle East’s hot, dry climate, which makes it difficult for the lake to replenish itself.

　　Last year, Israel and Jordan signed a $900 million deal in an effort to keep the Dead Sea’s water levels stable（稳定）. It includes building a canal from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea which would be able to not only supply water to Israel and Jordan but also to pump water into the Dead Sea.

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