Swimming in Toxic Sludge to Save the Earth: Environmental Hero or Idiot?

1. Geekazoid
   June 11th, 2009 at 7:34 pm

   Good for him, but I don't think anything is out of bounds for anyone these days wanting to be an activist or bring attention to their causes (or themselves as it increasingly seems).

   Anything that can be made into a blog with advertising revenue and other sources of profit I suppose.

2. vonskippy
   June 11th, 2009 at 7:55 pm

   You know what else is dangerous? Power tools. Maybe the guy could cut off a few fingers or limbs to raise awareness on those dangers.

3. secret asian man
   June 11th, 2009 at 8:18 pm

   White people are crazy!

4. eni
   June 11th, 2009 at 8:18 pm

   If something changes because of what he's doing, people will call him a hero. If it doesn't they will call him an idiot. It's simple. The winner writes history.

5. Kalel
   June 11th, 2009 at 9:05 pm

   The power of his message won't be complete until his activities finally kill him.

6. ilikecows13
   June 11th, 2009 at 9:37 pm

   I'll just say, I'm glad I'm not his wife.

7. james tracy
   June 11th, 2009 at 10:11 pm

   Idiot.

8. free online games for kids
   June 11th, 2009 at 10:32 pm

   I think a lot more can be done in terms of saving the environment other than swimming in the pollution yourself, although I certainly respect the perseverance and determination to bring across the message through such means. I hope something good certainly comes out of this.

9. Justin
   June 11th, 2009 at 11:11 pm

   I assume he is talking about the Potomac River in Washington DC. If so I would hardly call it "noxious". Decades ago I would have agreed with you, but there has been a concerted effort over the years to clean the river up and it is far from a cesspool.

   Granted there is some to be desired, and there is still work to be done, but it's far from a sewer.

10. Mytake
    June 11th, 2009 at 11:28 pm

    He must make quite an impression when he enters the classrooms he visits. Students can't help but be impressed by an environmental hero, particularly one that glows in the dark and has an extra eye on his forehead due to his pointless wallowing in toxic waste.

    Someone should let this self-destructive egomaniac know that protecting natural life means taking care of your own well-being as well and avoiding juvenile oneupmanship attempts. Above all, set a good example. Don't go out giving students bad ideas.

11. 032125
    June 12th, 2009 at 12:13 am

    Isn't tannin a naturally occuring acid that comes from trees? Why does he even mention it?

12. iamthepush
    June 12th, 2009 at 8:14 am

    before he goes in the schools to speak they tell kids to stay off drugs, if they don't they'll end up like this guy

13. seefish3
    June 12th, 2009 at 8:16 am

    This guy's in the same catagory as that sting-ray-killed nature tv host who left a wife and kids behind because he wouldn't stop f@#king with dangerous animals.

    Lost cause anyway. Pollution will stop only when we as a species die off or leave the planet.

14. onecrazymomma
    June 12th, 2009 at 10:37 am

    i think it's admirable that he's willing to put his body and health on the line to support his beliefs, but i also think there are probably many other ways to educate people without having to risk your own health like this. aren't enough people around the planet affected by all the environmental issues already? couldn't he just draw attention to them?

15. Emperor Tomato Catsup
    June 12th, 2009 at 10:49 am

    I vote "idiot."

16. Foreigner1
    June 12th, 2009 at 12:01 pm

    Yeah wel... Bit complicated this one. But I wonder how far you need to go on a personal level to show the world something's wrong.... Perhaps when he's ill, he can sue someone for several billions of dollars in damage...? Perhaps that would make a difference.

17. LisaL
    June 12th, 2009 at 1:28 pm

    I vote idiot as well.
    There are plenty of other things he could do to raise awareness other than this.
    I'm sure we'll be hearing about him coming down with some weird cancer b/c of these BS stunts.

18. Petite Poi
    June 12th, 2009 at 1:48 pm

    Agreed...idiot.

19. Bryan C
    June 12th, 2009 at 2:30 pm

    I'm not sure how this proves his point. In fact, it kinda seems to do the opposite. Exposure to trace amounts of gasoline and such have not and will not turn him into the Incredible Melting Man. You can pick up life-threatening infections from almost any body of water, if you try hard enough. And seeing as wildlife have notoriously sloppy bathroom habits, the most serious ones can entirely unrelated to human activity. So deliberately expose yourself to "toxic sludge" as a hobby, and you get sick exactly the same way as an unwary hiker sipping water from a crystal-clear brook just downstream from a pile of bear poo. That's really not all that compelling.

20. Oomi
    June 12th, 2009 at 4:08 pm

    Maybe he'll turn into the Toxic Avenger.

21. Tony
    June 12th, 2009 at 4:12 pm

    .idiut.
    ..when all the toxins and chemical elements that you aren't supposed to bathe in finally catch up to him, his medical care will be a burden to our already over-burdened healthcare system. nice one!

22. Avarana
    June 12th, 2009 at 4:15 pm

    “I realized that if somebody doesn’t put themselves on the line, nothing changes.”

    Well, nothing did change.

23. Mouserz
    June 13th, 2009 at 5:53 am

    both. If you wanna be dumb you gotta be tough.

24. Oscar
    June 13th, 2009 at 10:59 am

    another vote for idiot

25. abdulhamid
    June 14th, 2009 at 12:27 am

    BASE jumping, climbing Mt. Everest, swimming in toxic sludge. Do you white harbor some kind of deep-seated collective deathwish?

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