The Tempest Act I

"...Boats. Work you, then.

Ant. Hang, cur! hang, you whoreson, insolent noise-maker. We are less afraid to be drowned than thou art.

Gon. I’ll warrant him for drowning; though the ship were no stronger than a nutshell, and as leaky as an unstanched 45 wench.

Boats. Lay her a-hold, a-hold! set her two courses off to sea again; lay her off.

Enter Mariners wet

Mariners. All lost! to prayers, to prayers! all lost!..."

-Wm. Shakespeare, The Tempest

Welcome to the Maldives - Rising Waters

A haunting canvas Tatiana Iliina's artist's concept of what the Maldives Islands may look like in a few years time, after being completely flooded by rising waters fed by melting ice caps. (the canvas was sold and is in a private collection)

Another gorgeous day in the Maldives...

Maldives government meets under water

Approximately the same time this painting was painted, in mid-2009, the Maldives Parliament held a session underwater to symbolize the island nation's struggle for survival. Apparently it was officially a government cabinet meeting.

The Maldives consists of 1,200 islands in the Indian Ocean, about 200 of which are inhabited with an average elevation of 4 feet 11 inches, about 1.3 meters, above sea level.

Song of the Sea

"...the water had been rising higher each day for months now... ...the kids could see it, anyone could see it... ...inevitably, things reached the point where there was no land at all at high tide... ...we were ready for it... ...but it was hard to leave... ...our land was gone, replaced by water... ...in no position to even consider options, we were sailing for any friendly or far off shore, and singing the song of the sea..."

-offroad artist