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Swimmer plans record North Pole swim [to highlight global warming]
Reuters ^ | May 28, 2007 | John Joseph

Posted on 05/28/2007 10:10:14 AM PDT by Zakeet

A British adventurer is planning to highlight the effects of global warming by becoming the first person to swim at the North Pole and break his own record for the coldest swim.

Sporting just a cap, trunks and goggles, Lewis Gordon Pugh will swim 1 km (0.6 miles) in water at a temperature of minus 1.8 degrees Celsius on July 15, a dip he expects to last 21 minutes.

Such a swim would have been impossible as little as 10 years ago because the water would have been frozen, Pugh says.

"Most people have no idea that you can find patches of open sea at the North Pole in summer," said Pugh, who set the record for the coldest human swim off Antarctica at 0 degrees Celsius.

"I can't think of a better way to show that climate change is a reality than by swimming in a place that should be totally frozen over. I hope it will ... put pressure on the leaders of the G8 summit to cut carbon emissions dramatically," he said in a statement.

Climate change is expected to be high on the agenda at a meeting of the Group of Eight leading industrial countries in Germany next month.

Last year Pugh broke his own world record for the longest ice water swim by covering 1.2 km in a fjord in the Norwegian mountains, staying in the water for 23 minutes 50 seconds.

Any normal person would hyperventilate, suffer extreme shock and drown within minutes of jumping into near freezing water, but Pugh -- nicknamed the Polar Bear because of his ability to withstand freezing temperatures -- is made of sterner stuff.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: activism; environmental; environmentalism; envirowacko; globalwarming; religionofgore
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To: Zakeet

Hey Swimming dumbass! Global Warmign is supposed to be YEAR ROUND! Lets see you swim it in Winter! My tagline says it all!


41 posted on 05/28/2007 3:02:54 PM PDT by Bommer (Global Warming: The only warming phenomena that occurs in the Summer and ends in the Winter!)
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To: Zakeet

He sounds like an upcoming candidate for a Darwin award.


42 posted on 05/28/2007 3:07:41 PM PDT by ContraryMary (New Jersey -- Superfund cleanup capital of the U.S.A.)
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To: Zakeet
Sporting just a cap, trunks and goggles, Lewis Gordon Pugh will swim 1 km (0.6 miles) in water at a temperature of minus 1.8 degrees Celsius on July 15, a dip he expects to last 21 minutes.

Will he also, however, make sure his skin is completely coated with some type of oil or cream to insulate his skin against the effects of the frigid water? (and very conveniently fail to mention this to anyone.)

43 posted on 05/28/2007 3:17:40 PM PDT by GreenHornet
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To: dalereed
Why would a polar bear want A stiff, frozen human when there are tasty live seals to munch on.

Polar bears crave fat. So a seal with all its insulating fat would be a much more tasty meal than some lean British swimmer. Al Gore, on the other hand, would make the polar bears drool if he tried this global warming stunt.

44 posted on 05/28/2007 3:18:41 PM PDT by CommerceComet
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To: Zakeet

He will need a wet suit and an very full bladder.


45 posted on 05/28/2007 3:21:53 PM PDT by trumandogz
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To: sageb1
I went swimming in the ocean once on Christmas day. Would this count to join the polar bear club? We stayed out for about an 90 min. I must find out if San Juan Porta Rico has a polar bear club.
46 posted on 05/28/2007 3:34:16 PM PDT by ThomasThomas ( Spelling long words makes my head hurt.)
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To: Zakeet

The Great Global Warming Swindle
http://www.channel4.com/science/microsites/G/great_global_warming_swindle/index.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXc9H5JSyow&mode=related&search=


47 posted on 05/28/2007 8:32:15 PM PDT by TrebleRebel
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To: Zakeet

Any possibility this jackass will drown...???


48 posted on 05/29/2007 3:20:21 AM PDT by JB in Whitefish
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To: Zakeet
Amateurs!


49 posted on 05/29/2007 10:57:51 AM PDT by UnklGene
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To: freekitty

I hope he doesn’t eat 1/2 an hour before he gets into the water... he may cramp.

I hope that his swim is cut short due to fridged water.


50 posted on 05/29/2007 11:13:55 AM PDT by Holicheese (I love shrimp and grits.)
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To: dfwgator

What was the name of the two women who decided to cross th artic to “bring Global warming to people’s attention” ended up losing fingers and toes due to frostbite because of all the global warming. The guest book at their website was too funny.


51 posted on 05/29/2007 11:16:50 AM PDT by Holicheese (I love shrimp and grits.)
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To: Zakeet

He actually did it:

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/swimmer-takes-plunge-at-north-pole/20070716155009990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001

This seems, shall we say, extreme. I’m just glad his heart didn’t stop when he hit the water. As a swimmer myself, I can really appreciate how difficult this is. Now as for his cause...


52 posted on 07/17/2007 10:38:54 AM PDT by Zack Nguyen
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To: Zakeet

When I saw the news clip on this, there was ice floating around the guy...
and no indication of latitude/longitude (easy from GPS) to show the
location of his swimming in the news clip.


53 posted on 07/17/2007 10:40:45 AM PDT by VOA
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To: SilentServiceCPO

Now there you go...
confusing the environmalist radicals with fact!
(well done!)


54 posted on 07/17/2007 10:43:23 AM PDT by VOA
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