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  • (ominous music)

  • (waves rush) (ominous music)

  • (metal rattles)

  • - Every waterway in the United States

  • is supposed to be safe enough to swim in

  • every single day; but, of course, they're not.

  • (dramatic music)

  • I am getting into these contaminated waterways.

  • Someone's gotta risk something.

  • If people see that image, they start to ask themselves,

  • why is that guy in there?

  • That starts a discussion that can lead to a clean up.

  • (dramatic music)

  • (bright music)

  • My name's Christopher Swain, and I've swum

  • over 3,000 miles in over 25 different contaminated waterways

  • in North America. I wanna advocate for these waterways,

  • and I can energize clean-ups. (bright music)

  • I learned to swim as a kid.

  • I was the kid who didn't wanna get out of the water.

  • (bright music)

  • As I got older, and I think this is true for many of us,

  • I started to become aware that waters are contaminated

  • with everything from arsenic to zinc,

  • everything from human waste to nuclear waste.

  • We saw our waterways as dumpsters.

  • We saw them as sewers; legally speaking,

  • since 1972 when the Federal Clean Water Act passed,

  • all navigable U.S. waterways have to be safe for swimming

  • and fishing and drinking; if they're a fresh water creek.

  • (bright music)

  • Dozens and dozens of those waterways were in

  • and around New York City.

  • Newtown Creek is the worst of those.

  • It is contaminated with lots of things: heavy metals,

  • toxic chemicals, raw sewage,

  • and one of the largest ongoing oil spills

  • in the history of the United States.

  • So, in some way, we stole this waterway from ourselves.

  • What I'm saying is let's turn that around.

  • (bright music)

  • (upbeat music)

  • When I decide to take on a waterway,

  • this is my

  • puncture-resistant dry suit.

  • I take all these measures on all my swims

  • to protect my body and to protect my health.

  • I wear a cap; I wear goggles; I wear ear plugs;

  • I never put my head under, even so,

  • I've gotten sick lots of times.

  • Rashes, skin infections, ear infections,

  • respiratory infections. (upbeat music)

  • It's a hazard that goes with the territory.

  • (upbeat music) The reason nobody

  • has swum the length of Newtown Creek in history

  • is that at least in the last 100 years,

  • it's been far too disgusting.

  • No one in their right mind would go in there.

  • (upbeat music)

  • (dramatic music)

  • It's like swimming through a dirty diaper

  • that's been garnished with oil, gasoline, and trash.

  • Every part of your skin wants to crawl.

  • So why do I push on and do it?

  • I'm doing this out of love, like I really do love the water,

  • and I don't have a lot to work with.

  • I'm not a wealthy person; I'm not a scientist.

  • What I've got is my body and my life to offer.

  • I'm gonna keep going back in my dry suit

  • and my hazmat gear until these waterways are clean;

  • and when they're clean, I'm gonna get

  • into these clean waterways in my bathing suit

  • and enjoy them with my fellow citizens.

  • (upbeat music)

  • (bright music)

(ominous music)

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B1 中級 美國腔

在有毒的水中游泳 (Swimming in Toxic Water)

  • 95 1
    許大善 發佈於 2021 年 01 月 14 日
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