Putin’s Pipeline to Veer Away from Precious Lake

Russian president Vladimir Putin agreed with environmentalists that an oil pipeline being built across Siberia should be rerouted significantly further south, away from Lake Baikal, the world’s most voluminous fresh-water lake, reversing a controversial government decision last month. (NY Times)

UPDATE: I read on May 1 that the lake is the world’s oldest and deepest, containing 20 percent of Earth’s surface fresh water (25 million years old and 1,700 metres deep).