If you’ve enjoyed reading my ocean-rowing blogs over the last few years, have you ever thought about rowing an ocean yourself?

I confess that I may not be the best advert for the joys of life on the ocean wave, having done more than my fair share of whinging on my way across three oceans. But genuinely, I wouldn’t change a thing. Here are several good reasons to row an ocean:

Arriving in Hawaii in 2008

1. A sense of perspective: it’s a lot harder to get bent out of shape about being stuck in traffic when you have spent several months rowing at two miles an hour.

2. A sense of your own abilities: when you are in the middle of an ocean you will discover inner resources you may not otherwise have known you had.

3. A sense of wonder: sunrises, sunsets, the infinite variety of clouds, and encounters with pelagic wildlife are some of the moments you will never forget.

4. A sense of purpose: for the duration of your ocean rowing campaign, from first commitment through the months of preparation to the achievement of the goal itself, your dedication to your mission is pure and invigorating.

5. A sense of connection: I rarely feel closer to nature than when I am on the ocean. The artificial boundaries we have constructed on dry land disappear, and I am reminded that humans are inseparable from the web of life.

Pure joy.

6. A sense of achievement: Indescribable. Incomparable. Unforgettable.

My friend Chris Martin, who along with me was a solo competitor in the Atlantic Rowing Race of 2005, has just announced the launch of a rowing race across the Pacific from California to Hawaii. The inaugural race is slated to take place in 2014. I am working with Chris on the project, contributing time, energy and introductions in exchange for a small equity share in the company. We are accepting expressions of interest now. Have a think about it. Why not?

Other Stuff:

In a rather different environment, this time last year I was in Antarctica, enjoying the company of penguins. Thanks to Rich Hular for this lovely video of penguins and the reminder of a spectacular trip. You might also enjoy my own little Antarctic slideshow on YouTube.

I will be doing a review of the papers on BBC Radio 4 tomorrow morning at 9am UK time. This is rather hilarious, as I hardly ever actually read the papers. So my comments will be, shall we say, coming from a fresh perspective. Even if you don’t live in the UK, you can listen to the broadcast online at the Radio 4 website.

Tomorrow I fly to the US to start a series of speaking engagements for National Geographic, in Phoenix and Dallas. Then I will be back in the US in April, to speak at the EG Conference in Monterey. Registration is now open online. Seating very restricted, so book your place now!

Yesterday my life as an eco campaigner reached new heights – or depths. I spent much of the day talking crap – or maybe I should say, about crap. As I crouched next to a sewage outfall under Putney Bridge, I couldn’t help thinking what a very strange thing it was to be pontificating on camera about London’s problem with poo.

The smelly side of London

Many strategies that make resounding sense in the long term involve short term cost and inconvenience. How many of us agree in principle that something absolutely should be done about Problem X, Y or Z – but just not in my backyard? Without resorting to totalitarian extremes, how do we overcome this common problem? How do we get people out of a narrow nimby mindset to support the greatest good to the greatest number? This is the challenge facing Thames Water and the Thames Tunnel Now coalition.

The issue is that when there is a significant downpour in London, the sewage system gets overwhelmed and a mixture of rainwater and assorted other contents overflow into the River Thames. This happens about 60 times a year, and around 39 million tons of untreated waste goes into the river.

London’s sewage system was the best in the world when it was built by the Victorians 160 years ago. London then was a city of 2 million people. The Victorians were sufficiently forward-sighted to build the sewers with capacity for 4 million people, but now London has 8 million people.

The proposal is to build a huge holding tank under the Thames to hold the overflow until the sewage treatment plants have enough capacity to deal with it. It seems to me that almost any temporary inconvenience would be worthwhile to prevent untreated sewage flowing into one’s local river, the scheme has faced opposition from local residents who don’t want major construction going on in their neighbourhood.

Yesterday’s press call was organised by Thames Tunnel Now – a group of bodies interested in seeing the Thames restored to health and cleanliness. We had rowers, kayakers, birdwatchers, sailors, conservation groups, politicians, historians, conservationists, and even the great-grandson of the engineer who designed the original Victorian sewers, Sir Joseph Bazalgette.

Photos by Stewart Turkington

I spent the afternoon paddling around in a little yellow rowboat, pulling up on the foreshore of the Thames to inspect an outflow for the benefit of the cameras. Fortunately the weather was dry, so although the underside of Putney Bridge was not the most scenic place to find myself, at least there was no gushing sewage. In the evening we held an event at the Houses of Parliament, involving wine, canapés, and much exposition on excrement.

I attempted to express my love for London and the River Thames, on the upper reaches of which I took my first tentative strokes as a novice rower at the age of 18. I commented on the incongruity of London – still a leading world city in the 21^st century city – having a 19^th century-style river/sewer.

I am glad it was a friendly audience of the converted. I am not sure how effective my speech would have been in convincing the nimby contingent that the temporary loss of their local park during 5 years of construction is a price worth paying for the health and happiness of future generations.

This is a perennial issue for campaigners. Present versus future. Local versus general. It is in our nature to focus on the immediate and the present. But we need to widen our horizons to the collective and the long-term, to become global, forward-looking citizens if we are to make wise decisions.

I don’t have the answers yet – but for sure I’m thinking about it.

Quotes of the Day:

Zac Goldsmith, MP: “more crap in the river than there is in this place” (indicating the Houses of Parliament)

Alun Rees: “not so much rowing as going through the motions”

Me – suggested marketing slogan as a possible workaround to the problem of overflowing sewers: “if it’s precipitated, make like you’re constipated”