Dear colleagues, It's not publicized much in the news, but there has been a very unfortunate turn of events for Lake Baikal, the largest and the most ancient lake on the planet and one of the UNESCO World Nature Heritage Sites. On January 13, the Russian government made several changes in the list of activities prohibited in the area of Lake Baikal that allowed the re-opening of the Baikalsk pulp and paper mill, the main air and water polluter in the region. This decision is very unpopular in Russia, but the opposition is being suppressed (e.g., http://www.www.greengrants.org/breakingnews.php?news_id=271). Furthermore, the government is propagating the myth that there is no scientific evidence for the negative effect of the mill on Lake Baikal. I am trying to gather support from the scientific community in order to convince Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to revert the changes in the regulation. I posted an open letter at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/baikal/ and ask you to sign it. You can find more information at http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2010/03/biologist-petitions-russia-to-sa.html.
Thank you very much in advance and sorry for a potential double posting, Dennis Dennis V. Lavrov, Assistant Professor Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, 343A Bessey Hall, Ames, IA 50011 phone: (515) 294-9091; fax: (515) 294-1337 http://www.eeob.iastate.edu/faculty/LavrovD/
