Sacred Sea: A Journey to Lake Baikal - Talk and Book Signing With Peter Thomson '85
Discussion, slide show and book signing with author and independent journalist Peter Thomson '85.
Peter Thomson sets off from Boston with his younger brother for one of nature’s most remarkable creations, in one of the farthest corners of the planet. Lake Baikal, a gargantuan crack in the Siberian plateau, is the world’s largest body of fresh water, its deepest and oldest lake, and a cauldron of evolution, home to hundreds of unique creatures, including the world’s only freshwater seal.
A trip halfway around the world by train, cargo ship and rubber raft brings the brothers to a place of sublime beauty, deep history and immense natural power. But at Baikal they also find ominous signs that this perfect piece of nature could yet succumb to the even more powerful forces of human hubris, carelessness and ignorance. They find that despite its isolation, Baikal is connected to everything else on Earth, and that it will need the love and devotion of people around the world to protect it. What begins as a search for restoration in nature becomes as well a discovery of the restorative power of trust, faith and human connection.
Peter Thomson is a graduate of the Social Thought and Political Economy Program at UMass Amherst.
Sponsored by the STPEC Program and the Environmental Sciences Program at UMass Amherst.