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Journey to the Sacred Sea
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Viewing Ideas
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Before Watching
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Have students locate Lake Baikal on a globe or world map and
compare its size to one of the Great Lakes. Ask them to
speculate which of the two lakes has more water. What
information would they need in order to figure out which lake
does have more water?
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Lake Baikal has inspired numerous legends, poems, and religious
beliefs. Ask students what myths, legends, or folklore they can
recall about other natural phenomena. What was the purpose of
the stories? What questions about nature did they answer?
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The program explores the causes of ecological fears about Lake
Baikal. While watching the program, students should take notes
on human actions which could threaten animals, plants, and water
quality.
After Watching
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Environmentalists, naturalists, and scientists from around the
world have called on the United Nations to designate Lake Baikal
a World Heritage Site. Yet a 1989 article in the British science
journal Nature stated that "the alarms of the past few decades
have been without foundation; Baikal remains more or less in its
pristine state." Ask students what information they would need
to decide which argument is more accurate. For a follow-up, your
students can email the environmental group Baikal Watch
(baikalwatch@earthisland.org) for additional information.
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