Posted on 15 February
2010 - Over two thousand people gathered
in central Irkutsk this weekend to protest
the relaunch of the Baikal Paper
and Pulp mills, an industry that releases
toxic waste into Lake Baikal, the world's
single largest body of fresh water.
Environmentalists, scientists,
former mill employees, and several politicians
spoke out in favor of the industry's closure
and development of cleaner alternatives
for the city of Baikalsk on the southern
tip of the lake.
They urged Prime Minister
Vladimir Putin to cancel the government
decree signed in January, which allowed
the pulp-producing plant to release waste
into the lake.
The crowd cheered as
speakers demanded a transparent audit of
the dilapidated factory and alternative
employment opportunities for Baikalsk citizens.
Over 30,000 people have
already signed a petition asking President
Dmitry Medvedev to prevent what could become
and environmental catastrophe and cancel
the government decree which puts short-term
financial interests above a sustainable
future for the world's largest lake.
“Despite statements
that the ban to dump waste from the paper
mill into Baikal will be reinstated after
30 months, the official government decree
has no such limits," said Evgeny Shvarts,
WWW-Russia ecopolicy director.
"The mill owners
have broken their promises before, and we
have no reasons to believe their words this
time. WWF insists on redesigning the plant
into a no-waste enterprise, and urges President
Medvedev to cancel the decree that lifted
the ban to dump waste into the lake that
contains 20% of the world’s fresh water”.
The gathering was nearly
double the amount of people brought to Irkutsk
from Baikalsk to rally support for the plant
on the same day a few blocks away.
Due to 25 million years
of isolation and a diversity of deep-water
habitats, the biodiversity of Lake Baikal
- the deepest lake in the world - is unrivaled.
Located in the south of Eastern Siberia,
it is so large that it has been called an
inland sea.
It covers 31,500 sq.
km and is 636 km. long, an average of 48
km wide, and 79.4 km at its widest point.
Its water basin occupies about 557,000 sq.
km. and contains about 23,000 cu. km. of
water, that is, about one fifth of the world's
reserves of fresh surface-water and over
80 per cent of the fresh water in the former
Soviet Union. Its average depth is 730 m.
and its maximum depth in the middle - 1,620
m.
Among the lake's many
habitats are recently discovered hydrothermal
vents at a depth of about 400 meters that
support sponges, bacterial mats, snails,
transparent shrimp, and fish. There are
about 2,500 species of known plants and
animals in the lake, of which 1,500 are
endemic.
+ More
Panda Ambassador Mei
Lan ushers in Chinese New Year by launching
Earth Hour 2010 to the world
Posted on 11 February
2010 - Mei Lan – China’s recently returned
panda diplomat to Atlanta – has been announced
as an Earth Hour Global Ambassador, launching
the countdown to Earth Hour 2010.
At 8.30pm on Saturday
27 March, millions of people across all
continents will switch off their lights
for one hour – Earth Hour – to show the
world what can be done to resolve the dilemma
of global warming.
Mei Lan takes up her
first new diplomatic duty launching Earth
Hour in the her hometown of Chengdu, the
first city in China to commit its support
to Earth Hour 2010. The recognized symbol
of WWF, giant pandas have lived in Chengdu
for more than 8 million years.
“As a citizen of Chengdu,
Mei Lan will be standing with 13 million
residents of the city in taking part in
Earth Hour,” said Mr. Ye Lang, spokesperson
of the Chengdu municipal government.
“Chengdu is committed
to developing a low-carbon economy and building
a world-class garden city of tomorrow to
create harmony between man and nature. This
is highly in line with Earth Hour’s overall
goal.”
The people of Chengdu
will join citizens from all over the world
in more than 70 countries that have already
signed up to the ‘lights out’ event, including
four nations from four separate continents
– Paraguay, Mongolia, Madagascar and Czech
Republic – who will take part in Earth Hour
for the very first time.
Earth Hour continues
to gather momentum as the people of the
world take it upon themselves to show that
a resolution to the threat of global warming
is possible through collective action. New
countries, cities, towns and municipalities
are signing up daily to take action by turning
their lights out on 27 March, 2010.
Earth Hour Co-Founder
and Executive Director, Andy Ridley, said
it is clear from the huge interest and commitment
to Earth Hour from all over the world that
the planet’s population is determined to
lead the way for a climate resolution.
“Earth Hour 2010 is
proof of the global community’s desire to
adopt low-carbon lifestyle habits and show
some leadership to our world leaders in
addressing the issue of global warming,”
he said.
“Never has there been
a more important time or better opportunity
for the people of the world to stand up
and take the matter of climate change into
their own hands. Earth Hour brings together
communities, businesses and individuals
to show world leaders and, more importantly,
show each other, that a resolution to global
warming is possible if we work on it together.
It’s time to show the world what can be
done,” he said.
WWF Director General,
Jim Leape said Earth Hour is honored that
Chengdu is leading by example in the world’s
fastest growing economy by both committing
to Earth Hour and gifting the services of
Mei Lan for this prestigious position.
“Chengdu is the centerpiece
in launching Earth Hour 2010’s massive global
call to action for a climate resolution,”
Mr Leape said.
Since its inception
in Sydney, Australia in 2007, Earth Hour
has grown from a one-city event to a sweeping
global action, with hundreds of millions
of people in over 4,100 cities and towns
across 88 countries participating in Earth
Hour 2009 in what was the greatest voluntary
action the world has ever known. Some of
the world’s most iconic landmarks, such
as the Pyramids in Egypt, Christ the Redeemer
in Rio de Janeiro, the Acropolis in Athens
and even the lights of the Las Vegas strip
also went dark.
Mei Lan joins an esteemed
alumnus of past and present Earth Hour ambassadors
including The Most Reverend Desmond Tutu,
Cold Play and Cate Blanchett. Fans will
be able to follow her ambassador role via:
www.twitter.com/earthhour and www.earthhour.org.
So the stage is set for Earth Hour 2010:
the greatest show on Earth for action on
climate change.
