Sent 8 June 2018. Part of Little Blue Letter.

"I get into a meditative state 
but I don’t follow a path that people who meditate take, 
like sitting in a room and getting quiet. 
It is when I swim that I meditate."
~ Ben Lacomte

The Ocean is for Life, not just a Day
Clean-ups and other inspiring ocean events were organized around the world yesterday to mark World Oceans Day. Thousands in the US took part in the #MarchForTheOcean - “Our seas are rising, and so are we!” - while flotilla of boats and kayaks paddled down the polluted Anacostia River.
World Environment Day was also this week, with hosts India picking the theme,  “Beat Plastic Pollution” . The Indian Government recently stepped up action to combat its plastic problem, banning all forms of disposable plastics in its capital, Delhi, and pledging to clean up 100 of its historic sites, including the famous Taj Mahal. 

The Geneva office of the UN marked the occasion by announcing that its on-site catering service will ditch single-use plastic takeaway containers and cutlery. An exhibition in the building highlighted Lake Geneva's pollution problem with some beautiful artwork made from marine plastic:
#OceanOptimism
  • A small fishing community in Kenya is regrowing coral reefs - between 2013 and 2017 the community planted 1,225 individual corals in a 3 square km area.
  • Chile just became the first South American country to ban single-use plastic bags.
  • The OneLessStraw Campaign had a big win this week when Hilton Hotels announced that it will remove plastic straws from its 650 hotels - 35 million straws per year!
Gif of the week
The ocean is my cup of tea :)
From the editor
No idea what “gravity effects” are? Me neither. A scientist on the Longest Swim research projects says: “Land-based research into the effects of low gravity can only eliminate one gravitational gradient: head-to-foot. Ben’s immersion in water will remove a second gradient, the front-to-back, making it a more ideal analogue to space travel.” Basically, he will barely stand up for six months, which is kinda strange and sort of like floating in space. The inimitable Sylvia Earle just did an “Ask Me Anything” on Reddit. I've logged ~50 hours underwater, and I've been astounded by what I've seen. Sylvia Earle has logged 7,000 hours. When she talks about the ocean, we should all listen very carefully.
Little Blue Letter was curated this week by Leonie Meier. Leonie is currently Consultant at the UN Economic Commission for Europe and wrote her Master Thesis about policy responses to microplastic pollution. She is now trying to make the UN a plastic-free organisation. 
Editing etc. by Glen Wright. Glen is a researcher studying marine governance, the high seas, and ocean energy. He is a drinker of tea, lover of the sea, and an Oxford comma user. Glen recently published Academia Obscura: The Hidden Silly Side of Higher Education.
 

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