Greenland Ice is Disappearing Fast. Declare MAPS Now.
A historical monument from the last ice age, Greenland’s ice sheet has long withstood the test of time, until now. It is melting fast. As NASA’s Oceans Melting Greenland (OMG) program calculates just how drastic the consequences will be on coastal cities around the world, the Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary (MAPS) must be declared immediately to slow the rate of glacial melt.
Global sea level rise is one of the major environmental challenges of this century. Key cities around the world, including New York, Shanghai, Amsterdam, Rio de Janeiro and Mumbai, face serious impact unless bold and urgent action is taken to limit global warming and its consequential ice sheet melt. But so far, that hasn’t happened. The Greenland ice sheet contains 10 percent of the world’s reserves of fresh water in frozen form. If it goes, it could add 7.36 metres (over 24 feet) to sea level rise globally.
“MAPS declares our global commitment to sustainable energies by saying no to the unburnable oil resources in the Arctic. Extracting Arctic seabed oil and gas would release tons of carbon into the atmosphere, further accelerating the climatic warming that has already reached critical levels,” says Parvati.org founder, musician, activist and author Parvati Devi. “Keeping these reserves buried will help keep our planet cool while taking stress off this vulnerable region. MAPS helps the Greenland ice sheet – and all Arctic polar ice – stay intact, protecting coastal cities and their inhabitants from rising seas, and reducing the number of climate change refugees.”
Canadian not-for-profit Parvati.org created the international MAPS Treaty, translated it into the six official UN languages, and distributed it to the heads of government of all 193 member nations of the UN for their formal endorsement. The treaty takes effect with the signatures of 99 countries. MAPS designates the ocean north of the Arctic Circle as an international marine conservation area, precluding all commercialization, industrialization, and militarization in this delicate environment.
“We no longer live in an era when we have the luxury to consider one isolated region as if it were separate from the whole,” says Parvati. “The effects of Greenland’s melting ice sheet will be felt around the world. For the sake of all life on the planet, we must declare the Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary immediately.”
Parvati.org calls on everyone to sign the MAPS petition and call on their heads of government to sign the MAPS Treaty immediately. The opportunity, and the urgency, are unparalleled.
