Science teacher swims to protect world's oceans

Next spring, Marblehead resident Christopher Swain will dive into the Atlantic Ocean in Boston and begin an 800-mile swim to Washington, D.C. in an effort to plead the case of the world's oceans.

But first, he will stage another ethical-electronics-recycling event at the Tower School.

We live on a water planet, the 40-year-old father of two explained. If we want to live healthy lives, we need to go the distance to protect and restore the waters that we all depend on. I've decided to do just that: go the distance all the way to Washington to plead the case of the oceans. Along the way, I want to help schoolchildren find ways to make our water planet a healthier place to live.

The ocean swim is part of Christopher Swain's ToxTour project, an ongoing campaign to collect and recycle, ethically, one billion pounds of used electronics: the used computers, TVs, telephones and other items commonly known as e-waste.

Earlier this year, as a warm-up, Swain trudged 100 miles through northern New England carrying a 62-pound backpack of used electronics.

Last May, he held an ethical-electronics-recycling event that netted over 6,000 pounds of e-waste and raised nearly $1,000 for environmental initiatives at Tower.

Swain, an environmental educator based in Massachusetts, was the first person in history to swim the entire lengths of several dirty waterways, including the Columbia River, the Charles River, the Hudson River and Lake Champlain all in support of clean water.

Swain conceived of ToxTour as a way to keep used electronic devices, which he notes are full of toxic chemicals and heavy metals, from fouling the world's waterways and ecosystems.

High levels of heavy metals and dangerous chemicals aren't just affecting human health, said Swain. They are affecting ocean life as well. Dolphins and whales routinely show dangerous levels manmade toxics.

Since the event at Tower last spring, Swain has led carbon-neutral, ethical-electronics-recycling events and cross-curricular projects in schools from Vermont to Pennsylvania.

This week at Tower, Swain reported to an all-school assembly on the ethical-electronics-recycling event held on campus last spring, and discussed his upcoming ocean swim.

In small classes, Swain worked with students to problem-solve ways to make their everyday activities and purchases more ocean-friendly.

Said science teacher Russell Wells; There are a variety of threats to the world's oceans, but two of the biggest are global warming and toxic pollution.

This Saturday, Oct. 25, Tower will host an ethical-electronics-recycling event on its campus at 75 West Shore Drive in Marblehead. And this time around, more than just recycling will be offered.

To address the threat of global warming to the oceans, we decided not only to run a carbon-neutral recycling event, but to offer people a way to balance out the greenhouse gas emissions associated with their computers and cell phones, said Wells. Depending on the age and size of the device, this can cost as little as $2 and go a long way toward slowing global warming.

Proceeds from offset sales will be invested in new wind-power and methane-digester energy projects.

The electronics recycling event will be held this Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., rain or shine.
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These are the people who will change the world. Those truly committed to the planet every day because they truly care, not because it is a political agenda they say they will fulfill to get votes.