World's Highest Cabinet Meeting on Everest

Nepal's top politicians got their doctors OK, boarded a helicopter and strapped on oxygen tanks to assemble 17,192 feet above sea level on Mount Everest Friday for an event dubbed the world's highest cabinet meeting.

Yes, the event was a publicity stunt, but one for an important cause: climate change. In Nepal, it's not just an abstract issue, it's one that could very seriously affect their country and their people. According to The Associated Press, scientists claim Himalayan glaciers are melting at alarming speed, creating lakes with walls that could burst and flood villages below. Melting ice and snow also make the routes for mountaineers less stable and more difficult to follow.

This most unusual Cabinet meeting, which was attended by the Prime Minster, his two deputies and 20 Cabinet members, was meant to catch the attention of folks attending next week's international climate change conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. At the brief, chilly Cabinet meeting, members signed a commitment to tighten environmental regulations and expand the nation's protected areas.

"The Everest declaration was a message to the world to minimize the negative impact of climate change on Mount Everest and other Himalayan mountains," Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal told reporters.

Friday's Cabinet meeting was significantly speedier than normal, and many preparations were taken to ensure the safety of all involved. On Thursday, the group stayed overnight in the town of Lukla, about 9,180 feet high, to acclimatize to the higher elevation. They then traveled to Syangboche — 12,800 feet high — where the group, bundled in thick jackets, windproof gear and woolen hats, took the helicopter to Kalapathar, a flat area next to Everest's base camp. The meeting lasted a mere 20 minutes before the government officials were swooped away to lower ground.

But they certainly got their point across, and provided a powerful message about the seriousness of global warming.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.