Here is a fantastic film by Israeli filmmaker Yuval Dax of musician Paul Winter talking about the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is shrinking at an alarming rate due to man's need for water from its tributaries for human and agricultural consumption from all sides of the Rift Valley. The Dead Sea is also being exploited and drained for its rich mineral resources notably the extraction of Potash. This is far more visible on the Israeli side as the sea is much shallower and can be seen receding very clearly over great distances about a meter a year at current rates.