Doug Woodring, a former nominee for the World Open Water Swimming Man of the Year and race director for the upcoming annual Clean Half Marathon Swim, was representing Project Kaisei at last week’s Clinton Global Initiative, a project former President Bill Clinton created to bring world leaders and investors together to fund innovative ideas.

President Clintn announced a new effort called the Plastic Disclosure Project based on the misuse and mishandling of plastics around the world. The open water swimming community knows well about the garbage in the ocean, especially when more than 7 million tons reaches the world’s marine environment every year.

Project Kaisei launched its relationship with the Clinton Global Initiative, with its Rethinking Waste program in 2010. Doug and his colleagues and supporters are dedicated to finding solutions to ocean plastic debris. They are studying the trends and causes of water pollution, leading the coordination of large-scale cleanup initiatives to eliminate floating garbage patches, and proactively educating consumers on prevention and conservation.

All great causes that dovetail with open water swimmers’ love of a clean body of water to train and compete in.

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