First let me say I’ve been there many times with my wife and children. When we go, we marvel at the sea otters, jellyfish, and the Mola they had for awhile. When we go to an aquarium, I don’t expect to be seeing land mammals with gas masks on them used as climate propaganda, I expect to see fish, invertebrates, and marine mammals.
And here it is after:
We don’t go there to see cows with political statements. In fact, we won’t be going ever again. Monterey Bay Aquarium used to be a place to enjoy. Now it’s just another political hack.
Fortunately, there’s a Facebook group that got together and put enough pressure on the Aquarium to make them realize just how stupid their cow with a gas mask idea was. The gas mask is gone, but the exhibit remains.
Here’s the “apology” letter from MBA to one of the Facebook group members:
Dear Bridget,
The Monterey Bay Aquarium opened its “Hot Pink Flamingos” exhibit to share stories of the threats facing ocean wildlife – and human society – because of global climate change caused by carbon pollution from human activities.By combining live animal exhibits with stories of individuals and communities taking action to reduce carbon pollution, we’re highlighting a hopeful path forward. Most of our visitors are responding positively to that message.
Unfortunately, one element of the exhibit – a cow wearing a stylized gas mask – has become an unintended source of distress for families involved in the dairy industry. The cow has become not (as we hoped) a creative way to engage visitors in the topic of alternative-energy solutions but an upsetting and negative image about dairy farming.
For some, the mask has been a distraction from the important messages that are central to the exhibit: Carbon pollution from human activities is having dramatic and harmful effects on the oceans; and people around the world are making small individual changes, and larger changes in their communities, to cut our carbon pollution and avert a climate crisis.
We can tell those stories just as effectively without putting a gas mask on a cow. Offending dairy farmers was never our intent and we regret the distress the mask has caused. We’ve removed the mask, and are modifying nearby exhibit graphics so they specifically tell an alternative energy story. Many other engaging elements of Hot Pink Flamingos encourage visitors to think about – and talk about – the many things they can do to make a difference.
Monterey Bay Aquarium
886 Cannery Row
Monterey, CA 93940
www.montereybayaquarium.org
Here’s a couple of news stories:
KION-TV: Cow on Display at Aquarium Causes Beef With Farmers
The Monterey County Herald: Farmers have beef with Monterey aquarium’s cow
The online exhibit at MBA used to take comments, they are now closed. Gosh, ya think maybe they just got overwhelmed with negative feedback? This comment by Jim Peters pretty well summed up the stupidity of MBA’s cow exhibit:
You lost your credibility over junk science. No people = no need for cows, no people = less carbon footprint,why not just put a giant condom on the roof?
Before man huge herds of Buffalo grazed all over the plains.
Save the earth- do not emit hydro carbons traveling to the Montery Bay Aquarium in your car! Stay home!
And finally, the science of methane emissions as it pertains to bovines portrayed at MBA is a joke. A gas mask won’t do anything to stop emissions from either head or tailpipe, and will kill the cow eventually. Morons.
The MBA has a poll on their online exhibit page about climate change:
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This post struck a nerve, as I felt the same when I visited the new California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco some time ago. The general open layout and amount of space used for political driven nonsense about Global Warming distracted from what used to be a wonderful and intimate learning experience at the old Academy. I will never go back.
Always about intent, never about actual outcomes. . . .
Before European settlers came to the Americas, we had tens of millions of bison, who are every bit as fartacious as domestic cattle. I don’t know how many cattle we have now, but if the two bio-masses are the same, then our beef industry may be very close ‘carbon-neutrality’. But let’s not tell the Greens. I want each Green to feel a little guilty every time he slips away from his vegan buddies to surreptitiously wolf down a Big Mac.
“Climate idiocy at the Monterey Bay Aquarium – cow with a gas mask”
What’s that admonition given to musicians, singers, (entertainers, presenters, exhibitors in general by extrapolation) : “Shut up and sing” and we will do our own thinking …
.
.
“…..We can tell those stories just as effectively without putting a gas mask on a cow. Offending dairy farmers was never our intent and we regret the distress the mask has caused…..”
No Offending dairy farmers was never their intent just driving them out of business and taking away not only their jobs but the family identity. I know American farmers who have been farming the same land for over three hundred years. I am sure that in Europe the time frame is much longer for some families.
Also they seem to forget the cows replaced the bison on the American plains so just because cows are “owned” by mankind does not mean a cow like creature is not natural to that landscape, more natural than their “politically correct” museum is and that is for certain.
Pot meet kettle.
My family visited there 3 weeks ago…the exhibit is clumped with a new flamingo exhibit. My wife went to school in Monterrey and said this is typical of the aquarium…always some type of propaganda from them.
Other than that, the weather was great, sunny and warm each day we were there, that area is constantly overcast
I’m betting they’d agree with this corollary: “What the world needs now is less CO2–and that means fewer people”.
Their message is clear but thinking people are not fooled. The designation of CO2 as a pollutant has got to be the most illogical idea on planet earth. And the idea that methane is that big of a threat isn’t far behind.
This story puts me at a loss for intelligent and printable words. I hope you all noticed the Google advert, just below the story. Anyway I have a short narrative to share. I think it sums up the situation.
Two young men, climbed two fences one evening and attempted to pet a Tiger. One was seriously injured. This is not an urban myth, it took place in Calgary in 2009 and is well documented. We are talking substantial fences here. These men lived in Calgary and had visited the Zoo during operating hours. They knew just what they were doing, this was no accident. On a personal level the precautionary principle only works if it is applied by the actor.
The Zoo came under immediate criticism for not having better fences. This criticism came from propagandists that have other agendas. I visited the zoo to make sure my recollection of the physical setting was correct. The facts clearly show the zoo applied the precautionary principle in its design and maintenance of its facilities. To take further precautionary measures in this instance serves no real purpose but the suggestion that they may be or should have been taken, brings into focus philosophical questions relating to how free will choice and the responsibility of society come into conflict and compatibility. How much precaution is enough, where is the balance? I may have some responsibility to protect my brother but at what point does my brother need to do his own thinking? Can we even establish an objective definition of reasonable?
To finish this little narrative: The next day, in the hands of media, this story became a topic of conversation in the city. One radio station I was listening to, asked listeners to phone in and leave their comments about it. As I recall none were sympathetic to the young men. This was obviously not a situation of something going wrong. It was a situation of “what were you thinking?” I submit it was a situation of not thinking. The only comment to stick in my mind was one of the harsher ones. “Too many idiots, too few tigers.”
Here’s the EPA’s wording on the topic:
Livestock enteric fermentation.
Among domesticated livestock, ruminant animals (cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, and camels) produce significant amounts of methane as part of their normal digestive processes. In the rumen, or large fore-stomach, of these animals, microbial fermentation converts feed into products that can be digested and utilized by the animal.
This microbial fermentation process, referred to as enteric fermentation, produces methane as a by-product, which can be exhaled by the animal. Methane is also produced in smaller quantities by the digestive processes of other animals, including humans, but emissions from these sources are insignificant. The U.S. inventory report provides a detailed description on methane emissions from livestock enteric fermentation and how they are estimated (see the Chapter entitled “Agriculture”).
—-
Sadly, the EPA completely left out the number one anthropogenic source of methane as identified by the UNFCCC, namely methane flux from rice-paddy agriculture in Asia. Good luck controlling THAT source!
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
http://epa.gov/methane/sources.html
There was a typo in Monterey Bay Aquarium apology:
I believe this correction will help clear up their motivations for having a cow with a gas mask.
The Aquarium in New Orleans has parts of a drilling rig. Offshore a lot of fish are around the underwater structures of oil rigs and the fishing is actually better that fishing from boats. The pipes and structures are very real.
Some of the aquariums have much more political and greenie dogma written into their small story cards than others. Seward alaska has a great one and struggles because the town is small and Anchorage is far away.
From the letter above:
Monterey should be ashamed. If they don’t know that they mean CO2 which is not pollution and say carbon instead, they have flunked the 5th grader science.
I am getting accustomed to certain expressions that are very common that help people express their belief is dogma and not science. Oh my but the Oceans are actually the largest source of CO2 on the planet. They still think ocean CO2 comes from the air instead of the other way around. They should pump some pure CO2 into their aquarium along with air bubbles and watch their plants grow.
Me thinks, they also need to worry about the other end as well ;-).
Why haven’t the rising seas washed over the MBA?
Larry Fields says: (May 1, 2010 at 5:59 pm)
” I want each Green to feel a little guilty every time he slips away from his vegan buddies to surreptitiously wolf down in a Big Mac.”
Big Macs have beef? I did not suspect that. 🙂
Time to TAX THE TERMITES!! Biggest Methane producers on earth!
Don’ t ya just love the connection…..
…… and a paragraph away….
More pressure, more discount?
Just to reiterate what a few have said, yes, there were tens of millions of bison in North America. Today, there are about 100 million cattle, representing roughly 10% of the world cattle population. So in America, there probably hasn’t been a substantial increase methane production due to cattle.
India has the most cattle, with 281 million or about 30% of the world population. But these cattle provide sustainable fertilizer, fuel, and building supplies (in the form of dung) in treeless landscapes. Additionally, many in India consider cows sacred.
So back off the cows.
There is a difference between cow methane and bison methane. Cow methane is “dirty” and bison methane is natural. Just like all that extra ice on the arctic is really “dirty ice” and not the real deal. What makes cow methane dirty? Because humans raise cows. We should be eating tofu and drinking soy milk instead. [end sarcasm]
These are scientists or propagandists? Or just ignorant comedians?
“Cows absolved of causing global warming with nitrous oxide
Livestock could actually be good for the environment according to a new study that found grazing cows or sheep can cut emissions of a powerful greenhouse gas.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/climatechange/7564682/Cows-absolved-of-causing-global-warming-with-nitrous-oxide.html
Double standards are rife. Those crying for a GHG reduction do not seem to be making lists of what should be closed down next (apart from the fossil fuel cycle). It is a reasonable analysis to conclude that spectators driving cars to recreational events , including Monterey, should be near the top of the list of things to ban.
Here in Melbourne Australia we have several large sports grounds, where each weekend in the footy season, between 100,000 and 250,000 people sit on their bums and watch. Taken over a year, the closure of these grounds would result in a susbtantial reduction in GHG from their transport. Besides, you can see it better on TV.
Likewise, we have the Great Barrier Reef in the North-East (allegedly threatened by global warming) and Kakadu National Park (allegedly threatened by sea level rise), way up at the North of the land. There are expensive, on-going promotions to encourage long aircraft or road trips (= more fuel used) to see these places that are “threatened” by the resulting effluent.
It’s not just contradictory logic, it’s an official refusal to make cuts to GHG-producing activities that are not needed or optional. That is, it’s a failure of governments to put our money where their mouths are – which is not new, but has now become a requisite for gaining political office.
Mr Watts,
OT
I tipped you on Tips & Notes to WUWT about VORTEX2
Przemysław Pawełczyk says:
May 1, 2010 at 12:39 am
http://www.vortex2.org/home/
I was curious your opinion about the event from professional point of view. I waited all day to have the pleasure to read something interesting on VORTEX2 written by skilled Weather Man.
Meanwhile you have entertained us with COW as a hero in American never-ending-story of political correctness stupidity. Boring.
Well?
Regards
The Aquarium is perched on the edge of the Pacific Ocean. Rising sea levels, if significant, would threaten to wash it away. However, the local NOAA tide station data indicates the three highest sea level years came in the late 1990s, the early 1980s, and the early 1990s. This type of data could be exhibited by the Aquarium to show the uncertainties associated with climate change and sea level trends. The local sea level data would be much more relevant to the function of a sea aquarium than a cow with a gas mask.
Gotta love the gas masked cow!
Larry Fields says:
May 1, 2010 at 5:59 pm
“…. But let’s not tell the Greens. I want each Green to feel a little guilty every time he slips away from his vegan buddies to surreptitiously wolf down in a Big Mac.”
_______________________________
I finally figured out why the big push for pure vegan – no dairy,no eggs. Seems children raised without animal protein from some source have retarded brain development as well as behavioral problems. If codex alimentarius manages to convince nations to regulate supplements
the Vegan raised children are going to be in a world of hurt.
Red meat essential in the diet of young children: http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Role+of+red+meat+in+the+diet+for+children+and+adolescents.%28Section+3:…-a0169311698
Children ‘harmed’ by vegan diets: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4282257.stm
Meat-eating was essential for human evolution, says UC Berkeley anthropologist http://berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/99legacy/6-14-1999a.html
“… A new study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry shows that children who experience malnutrition exhibit strikingly increased behavioral disorders and aggressive behavior as they grow older. The study looked at children between the ages of eight and 17 years, and found some rather shocking statistics about their behaviors.
Children who suffered certain nutritional deficiencies demonstrated a shocking 41% increase in aggression at age eight. At age 17, they demonstrated a 51% increase in violent and antisocial behaviors. And the only difference is their diet….”
Read more: http://www.healthy-holistic-living.com/effects-of-malnutrition.html#ixzz0mjUt5IDq
(I can no longer find the actual peer reviewed study I was looking for)