Global Warming: Maldives could be first to be Submerged?
Politics in the Maldives will sink to a new low later this month, when the nation’s cabinet holds its first meeting underwater.
From the Guardian.co.uk Wednesday 7 October 2009 18.55 BST
(found on Google)
The country, a collection of atolls and islands in the Indian Ocean, stands less than two metres above sea level, and as climate change causes seas to rise it will probably be the first nation to sink beneath the waves.
Under the threat of that looming watery Armageddon, President Mohamed Nasheed has announced plans to hold a cabinet meeting under the sea, ahead of the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen this December.
Ministers clad in wetsuits and shouldering compressed-air tanks, will meet about 20ft (6m) underwater on 17 October. They will communicate through hand gestures, according to Aminath Shauna, an official from the president’s office.
“It is to send a message to the world. The intention is to draw the attention of the world leaders to the issue of global warming and highlight how serious are the threats faced by Maldives as a result,” she said. “If we can stop climate change, the lowest-lying nation on earth will be saved.” The gathering will take place off the island of Girifushi, which lies about 20 minutes’ journey by speedboat from the capital, Male. One minister has already had to pull out: scuba instructors said the education minister was not fit enough to take on the dive.
My comment on this Blog Action Day is that we are all living on this small planet and the gravity of the threat to one small nation is a call to each one of us to do whatever we can to minimize our footprint.
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