Climate change: Advocates warm up to Lake Baikal

BOLSHIYE KOTY, Russia – Containing one-fifth of the world’s freshwater, Lake Baikal has stood the test of time–paper mills, an influx of tourists, and now a proposed uranium enrichment facility. But two activists are standing up to detrimental development.

Lyubov Izmestieva, whose family has monitored the lake for almost a century, worries that plans to rent cabins on the banks near their base may prevent them from continuing their work — work that has garnered international acclaim.

Scientist and environmental activist Marina Rikhvanova is fighting to keep Lake Baikal healthy. It “is an indicator of whether modern man can curb his appetite and preserve what nature has created,” Rikhvanova tells AP. “It’s a kind of red line for humanity.”

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Source: Associated Press