A Bold, Whimsical Moment in The Maldives
I am a chiropractor who is also a scuba diving enthusiast. At least once a year, I close my chiropractic clinic and head search out the ocean floor of many of the warmer waters around the world. But, I’ve never been scuba diving in the Maldives, an island nation in the Indian Ocean. However, today, I saw a photo and read a short article about the government of the Maldives on discovery.com that has inspired me to put this cluster of coral islands on my “adventure list.” What inspired me? It’s this: In hopes of drawing attention to his country’s unique challenges in the face of climate change, President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives, held the world’s first underwater cabinet meeting. That’s right! Amongst the fish and coral in a blue lagoon off Girifushi Island, President Nasheed, along with his vice president and 11 cabinet ministers signed a document calling for an international effort to halt global warming, which will be presented this December in Copenhagen during the U.N. conference on climate change.
Why did the government of the Maldives choose to make such a whimsical statement? It is attempting to call attention to their nation because rising sea levels, as a result of global warming, threaten to submerge the island within 100 years. The nearly 350,000 citizens of the Maldives are doing their share and are years (maybe decades) ahead of many other countries around the world. President Nasheed has already pledged that his country would be carbon neutral by the end of the decade.
To see the photo and read the article in its entirety, click on the discovery link above.
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