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Why MAPS Is a Voice for Everyone

Life on Earth began in the oceans. They cover over 71 percent of our planet’s surface and produce approximately 50 percent of the oxygen we breathe. But today, the oceans are in grave danger. We may try to look the other way, but we remain inescapably connected with them. Their demise is our very own.

The world’s smallest ocean, the Arctic Ocean touches us all, no matter where we may be. Not only does it flow into the other oceans of the planet in a majestic, interconnected dance full of life-giving phytoplankton and resounding whale song; the coolness of its ice shapes the weather patterns that give us the food and water we need to survive. Our planet’s icy crown is a crucial ecosystem that carries, nourishes and sustains us in every moment.

When the Arctic Ocean is threatened, as it is today with accelerating melt and encroaching commercialization and military activity, every single one of us has a role to play in protecting it, so that it can continue to protect us. The health of the Arctic sea ice is critical to the health of our world.

MAPS asks people from every country, not just Arctic states, to speak up for the preservation of the Arctic Ocean. It gives developing countries in Africa and small Pacific islands an equal voice to that of global superpower nations, to advocate for the safe future of their people. In this way, MAPS unites humanity as one Earth family, and affirms our global interconnection and the importance of each and every life.

History is written by people who show the courage to take compassionate action. We have all read the stories of the Good Samaritan who tended to a beaten traveller, Harriet Tubman’s tireless efforts to free American slaves, or the Japanese pensioners who volunteered to clean up the damage at Fukushima and protect younger workers from radiation.

MAPS belongs to everyone. The power to compel global change for the good of all is within each one of us. Now is the time to stand up and be heard, to safeguard the life that the Arctic Ocean sustains: our very own, as well as that of all other creatures on our beautiful, shared planet. Through MAPS, together, we can transform the world’s smallest ocean into its greatest strength—and literally save our world.

That’s why we need MAPS now.

By Parvati Magazine Staff