Olympic Swimmer Fights for Ocean Conservation

He’s an Olympic swimmer with a gold medal… and a heart of gold as well. U.S. swimmer Aaron Peirsol is using the celebrity he’s garnered from his abilities in the pool to help strengthen conservation efforts in the ocean.

Peirsol is working with Oceana, the world’s largest international ocean conservation organization. He believes that the degradation of the world’s oceans is one of the leading problems of our time and he’s committed to effecting change.

Race for the Oceans, a swim race in Fort Meyers, Florida, was organized by Peirsol to get the message out and to raise awareness that even the little things count in our fight to save the oceans. He says simple things go a long way toward cleaning up the fragile marine ecosystems…

Bringing a canvas bag to the grocery store is a simple and incredibly effective solution. So is being aware of what you dump in your storm drains. Other things include knowing which fish you buy at the store are sustainable. It’s no secret our fish populations are dwindling more every year.

Read the full interview with Peirsol on MSNBC.