Voice 1
Hello, I’m Marina Santee.
Voice 2
And I’m Ruby Jones. Welcome to Spotlight. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
A tall man stands still in the distance. He is wearing very few clothes – a white rubber cap on his head, small black swimming shorts. He also wears special rubber goggles. These protect his eyes. This man is an expert swimmer. Another man stands close by him. He is wearing skis on his feet. The long skis make it possible to slide over the ice. The men are standing by a narrow split in the ice. Between the pieces of ice is deep water. The man wearing the skis asks the swimmer if he is ready. The swimmer nods his head. Yes, he is ready. The two men shake hands. Then, the swimmer dives into the deep, black water. The man with the skis slides along the ice next to the water. He tries to encourage the swimmer – he shouts loudly and tells him to keep going. Eighteen minutes later, the swimmer stops. The man with the skis helps him to climb out of the water. The temperature of the swimmer’s body is dangerously low. His skin is turning blue. He is hardly able to speak. But he does not care. He has achieved his goal – to be the first person to swim in the water around the North Pole – the place at the very top of the world!
Voice 2
Normally, ice covers the area around the North Pole all the time. It has been like that for one hundred thousand [100,000] years! No one has ever been able to swim there – until now. Many people believe that the ice there is melting because of climate change. Every year humans produce increasing amounts of ‘greenhouse’ gases. These gases cause the earth’s atmosphere to trap more of the sun’s heat than it should. And the earth’s temperature rises as a result. So, the large areas of ice and snow in the world are slowly disappearing.
Voice 1
Lewis Pugh is one of the people worried about climate change. And it was this concern that led him to swim in the icy water of the North Pole. He said,
Voice 3
“I hope my swim will make world leaders think seriously about climate change. The decisions that they make over the next few years will have a strong effect on the environment. I want my children, and their children, to know that polar bears are still living in the Arctic.”
Voice 1
People sometimes compare Lewis Pugh to a polar bear. Both like to swim in cold water! In fact, polar bears can swim or walk thousands of kilometres in a year. These large, fierce creatures live in the extremely cold parts of the world. But they could not survive in a warmer climate. Lewis was very pleased that he did not meet one during his swim!
Voice 2
Polar bears were one concern during Lewis’s swim. Another major difficulty was the water temperature. The water at the North Pole is salty. Salt water freezes at a lower temperature than fresh water. So the temperature was minus one point eight [–1.8] degrees – the coldest water any human has ever been swimming in! Lewis described what it was like:
Voice 3
“The water was completely black – it was like diving into a dark, black hole. It was frightening. The pain was immediate. It felt like my body was on fire. I was in terrible pain from beginning to end. And I almost stopped a few times. It was the hardest swim of my life.”
Voice 1
So, what effects did such cold water have on Lewis’s body? Most people who tried such a thing would die after a few minutes. Their body temperature would drop. The intense cold would freeze their muscles so they could not move their legs or arms. Lewis explains how he prepared:
Voice 3
“I have spent a lot of time in cold places. So I am used to cold temperatures. When I enter cold water, my body reacts quickly. It sends all my warm blood to the places that need it most – my heart, my lungs. My body then makes a lot of heat. However, even before I enter the water I am able to prepare myself. I am able to raise my body temperature by as much as one point four [1.4] degrees. I do this by concentrating on increasing my heart rate. This increases my production of heat and energy. Not many people are physically able to do this. And, I also needed to gain weight. So I had to eat five meals a day for three months!”
Voice 2
However, when Lewis came out of the water, his toes and fingers were blue. Cuts made by the ice covered his body. His body temperature had dropped from the normal thirty–seven degrees to thirty–six point five degrees. His team of helpers got him back into their small speedboat very quickly. Then they hurried back to their base. This was a large Russian ice–breaking ship that had brought them to the North Pole. Soon, Lewis was under a hot shower of water. After some time, his body temperature increased to its normal level. And Lewis was left feeling very pleased at having performed this amazing act.
Voice 1
Lewis has now completed swims at the North Pole and the South Pole. And he has swum in all five oceans of the world. In February 2007, Lewis Pugh managed to swim from one side of the Maldive Islands to the other – a distance of one hundred and forty [140] kilometres. He wanted people to know about the particular problems these islands face. They are in the Indian Ocean And they are very flat – most are below one metre high. If the earth’s temperature continues to rise, then the Maldives risk being lost under water forever.
Voice 2
Lewis will need some time to recover from his latest swim. But one thing is sure – his desire to help protect the environment will encourage him to keep swimming. He says,
Voice 3
“Climate change is the biggest danger to life as we know it. But we can do something about it. I have chosen to swim. It is my way of telling people about the problems that our environment faces. And I hope my efforts make people want to act – not to swim, but to do something about climate change where they are.”
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