British Magician Uses Magic Skills to Protect Environment

Megan Swann, President of The Magic Circle, demonstrates a magic trick at their headquarters, in London, Britain, May 26, 2022. REUTERS/John Sibley
Megan Swann, President of The Magic Circle, demonstrates a magic trick at their headquarters, in London, Britain, May 26, 2022. REUTERS/John Sibley
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British Magician Uses Magic Skills to Protect Environment

Megan Swann, President of The Magic Circle, demonstrates a magic trick at their headquarters, in London, Britain, May 26, 2022. REUTERS/John Sibley
Megan Swann, President of The Magic Circle, demonstrates a magic trick at their headquarters, in London, Britain, May 26, 2022. REUTERS/John Sibley

Magic tricks performed by Megan Swann are not just for fun, they hold a vital message, according to Reuters. When she was born in 1992, the traditionally male-dominated world of magic had only just started allowing women to join the Magic Circle magicians' society.

Now at 30, Swann is not only the youngest and first female president of the society, but she's using her position and magic to raise awareness about climate change and the environment.

Swann studied wildlife conservation at university, growing increasingly despondent at the huge issues facing the natural world, and the lack of action.

“One of the key things I realized from my degree was how important environmental education is. We have so many of the solutions to solve these problems, but we don't use them,” she said. So, Swann began creating tricks with an environmental message to perform at schools.

“I use magic as a communications tool. It's a way to capture attention and share a message in a fun way,” she said. Swann, who got her first magic set at five years old, said one of her favorite tricks involves three ropes representing plants, animals and insects. They start at equal length to show nature in balance.

“As I talk about the issues the world faces, mainly caused by us humans, they become different sizes... I then talk about what we can do to help restore the ropes back to their original, equal length,” she explained.



Latest Tests Show Seine Water Quality Was Substandard When Paris Mayor Took a Dip

 Boats carrying members of delegations sail along the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
Boats carrying members of delegations sail along the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
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Latest Tests Show Seine Water Quality Was Substandard When Paris Mayor Took a Dip

 Boats carrying members of delegations sail along the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
Boats carrying members of delegations sail along the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024. (AFP)

Tests results released Friday showed the water quality in the River Seine was slightly below the standards needed to authorize swimming — just as the Paris Olympics start.

Heavy rain during the opening ceremony revived concerns over whether the long-polluted waterway will be clean enough to host swimming competitions, since water quality is deeply linked with the weather in the French capital.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a highly publicized dip last week in a bid to ease fears. The Seine will be used for marathon swimming and triathlon.

Daily water quality tests measure levels of fecal bacteria known as E. coli.

Tests by monitoring group Eau de Paris show that at the Bras Marie, E. coli levels were then above the safe limit of 900 colony-forming units per 100 milliliters determined by European rules on June 17, when the mayor took a dip.

The site reached a value of 985 on the day the mayor swam with Paris 2024 chief Tony Estanguet and the top government official for the Paris region, Marc Guillaume, joined her, along with swimmers from local swimming clubs.

At two other measuring points further downstream, the results were below the threshold.

The statement by Paris City Hall and the prefecture of the Paris region noted that water quality last week was in line with European rules six days out of seven on the site which is to host the Olympic swimming competitions.

It noted that "the flow of the Seine is highly unstable due to regular rainfall episodes and remains more than twice the usual flow in summer," explaining fluctuating test results.

Swimming in the Seine has been banned for over a century. Since 2015, organizers have invested $1.5 billion to prepare the Seine for the Olympics and to ensure Parisians have a cleaner river after the Games. The plan included constructing a giant underground water storage basin in central Paris, renovating sewer infrastructure, and upgrading wastewater treatment plants.