Finding of the week #196

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The Continuation of the Speedo Diplomacy

During my ongoing literature review I often discover interesting facts about things I’ve never thought about. Sometimes I can connect these facts with my own observations: The result is mostly a completely new idea why things are as they are. Maybe these ideas are new to you, too. Therefore I’ll share my new science based knowledge with you!

This week: This time, I think about Lewis Pugh’s return to Antarctice in order to continue raising awareness for the importance of protecting the pristine Antarctic ecosystems.

About two years after the Five Swims in Antarctica, Lewis Pugh has returned to Antarctica in order to continue his „Speedo Diplomacy“ with the Antarctica 2020 campaign. His goal is to raise awareness for the need of establishing more Marine Protected Areas (MPA) around Antarctica that will help to protect those pristine ecosystems by performing long distance swims in the Antarctic seas wearing nothing else than a speedo.

Lewis Pugh’s previous „Five Swims in Antarctica“ campaign as well as his enormous efforts of travelling to Moscow numerous times in order to convince Russian officials to endorse the Ross Sea protected area finally resulted in the Ross Sea being declared an MPA on 28 October 2016 by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR).

On 13 December 2016, Lewis Pugh launched the Antartica 2020 campaign by undertaking a kilometer-long swim between icebergs in the Bellinghausen Sea. It took the endurance swimmer and UN Patron of the Oceans 17 minutes and 30 seconds to complete this challenging swim in the 0°C cold water.

I know the risks I face when I swim down here, but I consider them to be less than the risks the world will face if we lose.

Furthermore, Lewis‘ message is emphazised by the spectacular and breathtaking photos that are taken during his swims. For instance, on 16 December 2016, he swam next to an iceberg shaped like a heart. This amazing picture was taken from a drone by Kelvin Trautman which was only possible after a lot of paperwork ensuring that no wildlife will be disturbed in order to get the permission to use drones in Antarctica at all.

Thank you!