BAIKALSK, Russia — The future of 20 percent of the world’s supply of pure fresh water is in jeopardy because a surprise decree by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will allow a heavily polluting pulp mill to reopen on the southern shore of Lake Baikal in southern Siberia. Magnificent, almost pristine Lake Baikal, the ‘Pearl of Siberia,’ is a source of national pride and awe, an icon for the Russian environmental movement, a World Heritage Site and the only natural area in Russia that’s protected by its own law. Many locals consider the enormous lake - at 12,248 square miles, it’s the size of Maryland and Delaware combined - sacred. Between its size, its 5,380-foot depth and its remarkable biodiversity, the lake’s fate has global significance. The Baikalsk Pulp and Paper Mill is the only industrial enterprise that dumped waste directly into the lake, and the fight against its construction gave birth to the Russian environmental movement and emboldened public figures to speak out against the Soviet state. Using chlorine to produce bleached cellulose, BPPM discharged as much as 4 million cubic feet of toxic waste into Lake Baikal annually. More than 6 million tons […]