TED Blog » Lewis Gordon Pugh

New-wave campaigning for climate change

Jenny Zurawell — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:00:36 +0000

On Saturday, October 17, president Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives will conduct his national cabinet meeting … 20 feet beneath the surface of the Indian Ocean. The president and his ministers will carry out the full monty under the sea with wetsuits, compressed-air tanks and even waterproof pens and paperwork to persuade world leaders of the impending danger of global climate change and the necessity of carbon emissions cuts.

Rising sea levels threaten to submerge the Maldives, an archipelago with an average elevation of 2 meters and a population of 396,000, within this century. For more on the risks of rising sea levels, watch James Balog’s talk on extreme ice loss and Lewis Pugh’s talk on swimming the North Pole. And at TEDIndia in Mysore, we’ll hear from Charles Anderson, a marine biologist who studies ocean life in the Maldives.

Swimming the North Pole: Lewis Pugh on TED.com

Emily McManus — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 11:00:00 +0000

Lewis Pugh talks about his record-breaking swim across the North Pole. He braved the icy waters (in a Speedo) to highlight the melting icecap. Watch for astonishing footage — and some blunt commentary on the realities of supercold-water swims. (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2009, July 2009 in Oxford, England. Duration: 18:54)

Watch Lewis Pugh’s talk on TED.com, where you can download this TEDTalk, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances from our archive of 500+ TEDTalks.

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Lewis Pugh at TEDGlobal 2009: Running notes from Session 4

Shanna Carpenter — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 10:51:04 +0000

Seven years ago, Lewis Pugh went to the Arctic for the first time, and since then he says he has seen it change “without description.” To bring awareness to the issue of climate change, Pugh decided that he would swim across the North Pole, in waters at -1.7 degrees Celsius.

Today, on stage, Pugh describes his experience and the months of training that go into an Arctic swim. He says it was only after a year of training that he felt confident enough to enter the icy waters. They stopped the ship, he dived into the sea. He says, “I have never felt anything like that moment.” The paradox of the experience was that he felt like he was on fire, he explains. His hands froze immediately, and even by the next day had not regained feeling. As a swimmer who must grab the water with his hands to move, he was panicked, but eventually he regained full feeling.

He persevered in his efforts until, eventually, came the day of the actual swim. He remembers looking into the black water and seeing big chunks of ice. Now, he shows us the video of the 20-minute Arctic swim in nothing but a Speedo swimsuit. In the water, he moves comfortably, it looks almost effortless, and save for the ice caps behind him, he could be in any pool. But, when he gets out of the water, the difficulty of the challenge is written all over him. He seems barely alive.

The robustly athletic Pugh of today calls us back to reality. He explains that this swim has afforded him the opportunity to speak to people all over the world. They want to hear about his experience, and he tells them about climate change.

Twitter Snapshot: Lewis Pugh's Polar Plunge

Jenny Zurawell — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 09:26:36 +0000

Lewis Pugh, long-distance and cold-water swimmer, recounted his extraordinary feat of swimming across the North Pole in an effort to raise awareness for climate change. Melted ice in the Arctic afforded him the opportunity to swim 1 mile in the -1.7C water. TED Tweeters were awestruck by Pugh’s conviction and the footage of his swim alike:

Lewis Pugh: Climate change is real. We need to do something about it, right now. — tedtochina

Lewis Pugh: because of global warming, there is water at (or near) the North Pole, at least thanks to the ice breaker ship — kokoe2

Pugh wanted to swim across the North Pole to “shake the lapels of world leaders” on climate change. Have YOU ever heard of him? — ruthannharnisch

“It’s f**king freezing” – Lewis Pugh, Arctic swimmer — andrewgerrard

Lewis Pugh who swam one mile across the North Pole in freezing waters is on the stage. Female Tedsters are swooning — WiredUK

We must all walk to the end of our lives, turn around and ask the question ‘what world do we want to live in?’ (LP) — iamhelenharrop