A UK Man Swims The Whole New York River As Part Of A Clean Water Campaign.

 

In order to promote the Hudson River's decades-long effective cleanup as a model for other waterways, British endurance swimmer Lewis Pugh finished a 315-mile (500-kilometer) voyage along it on Wednesday.

Pugh, 53, who was named the first UN patron of the seas ten years ago, noted that fifty years ago, this river was among the most polluted in the entire world.

After making the solo journey from the mountain source of the Hudson all the way down to New York City, he addressed the media and said, "We need to have clean, healthy rivers.

Depending on the dyes and other pollutants that were discharged or ran off, he claimed, the river in New York's industrial past would occasionally change color from day to day.

However, Pugh was able to swim safely down the river after decades of effort to clean up pollutants; he hopes that his month-long achievement will serve as an inspiration to others.

They will take inspiration from what has transpired here and think to themselves, "If they can do that in the Hudson, surely we can do it in our river and our river can also be saved," he said.

Pugh has already made headline-grabbing swims in the Antarctic, the North Pole, and the Red Sea in support of rivers that are safe for swimming and fishing.

His Hudson River achievement comes as world leaders prepare to assemble in New York for the annual UN General Assembly, where a historic High Seas Treaty will be formally signed.