
Editor’s Note
by Paul L. Hayden
We’ve Come So Far
Let’s talk about the largest fresh-water lake in the
world. Not Lake Superior, but rather Lake Baikal, northeast of Irkutsk
in the southern part of Siberia. If you always thought Lake Superior was
the largest fresh-water lake in the world, you’re right. However, both
lakes require qualifying statements: Lake Superior is largest by surface
area; Lake Baikal is largest by volume. The volume of water in Lake Baikal
is staggering. It contains fully one-fifth of all the fresh water on the
planet, greater than all five Great Lakes in North America combined. It
is 400 miles long and has a depth up to 5,750 feet. That’s 1.1 miles deep.
Because it is actually part of a continental rift, the lake is full of
sediment, which makes it seven times deeper than the Grand Canyon. It’s
big.
There
are other unique qualities of Lake Baikal. It has developed an isolated
ecosystem of more than 2,000 aquatic life forms. It also exhibits many
characteristics that we see on Lake Superior, such as huge storms. However,
the one gigantic “has” Lake Baikal can’t claim that we do have on Lake
Superior is a caring population.
A recent article in Russian Life by Gary and Monika Wescott points out
an important aspect of the Russian culture that is not at all kind to Lake
Baikal. Much as Gary and Joanie McGuffin did in their famous North American
cross-continent tour (documented in our pages Winter 1984 and Spring 1985,
and their book Superior: Journeys on an Inland Sea), the Wescotts’ expedition
crossed Russia. When they paused at Lake Baikal in the spring, they found
a way of life that hasn’t changed much over the centuries. Fishing is still
the major occupation, but the fish populations are declining. The water
is more polluted. And they were amazed at the “total disregard locals,
both Russians and Buryats, have for the fragile Baikal environment.” Trash
is left everywhere by campers and fishermen, campfires start wild fires,
rubbish is scattered in heaps near every campsite. To sum it up, the degradation
of the territory in unbelievable.
Lake
Baikal is an amazing place, but to realize that its population has no concept
of protecting it brings home the accomplishments of our own world of Lake
Superior. We are so critical of what we haven’t accomplished, yet on the
other side of the world, they haven’t even begun. We should be proud that
we are doing so much to preserve our own resources.
If you can, find a copy of the May issue of Russian Life and read the Wescotts’
eye-opening account. I would also suggest that you support the efforts
of Lake Superior Center, which keeps the health of fresh-water lakes fully
in our consciousness. It seems so difficult, and yet we’ve come so far.
Paul L. Hayden
Editor
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