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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Dennis Nikols says:
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.
***************
In South America we are being discriminated! I get not a single advert in my browser. Not even a humble line promoting getting rich by clicking the link!
Don’t you envy us?
BTW: We are in Argentina going to save the world from burning. We used to have about 60 millions cows but thanks to our beloved government and its anti-farmers policies our cattle stock was reduced by 30% in just two years. Fear not methane, our methane footprint was reduced by 30% and our CO2 footprint is following close behind. As the price of meat skyrocketed 100% in three months, very few people are now having their traditional barbecues (asados) so there are almost no fire being lighted for barbecues. No Co2, no smoke, no pollutants. This also makes people skinnier and is transformig them into vegans… and you kow that fat people are guilty of warming the planet.
A cardboard cut-out of a shrugging, long-nosed, gag-wearing Al Gore would have been just as ruinous an experience…
… but at least more welcome, imo! 🙂
And how many carbon traders at the Chicago Exchange would have been offended? (Hint: see recent post about the cost of a carbon credit!)
Almost kind of gives me another idea for a wish… I wish Al Gore would be visted tonight by three Computer Models (spirits!). Especially the Computer Model of Earth-Day Future, which would show him how few people would be offended by that cardboard display of him, compared to ranchers offended by the gas-mask cow.
When I saw this display during my last visit to the Aquarium recently, my heart sank.
I now consider an organization that I once perceived as a source of research and education now TAINTED.
I blame Julie Packard.
I knew she leaned left and green, and appeared up until recently to promote thoughtful marine science through marine exploration and education, but after seeing the politicization and climategate grade propaganda there lately, I’ve come to the conclusion that she is an enviro nut with too much money.
And I am certain her parents would not be happy with what she has become.
And, you missed the obligatory picture of the polar bear precariously balanced on the melting pillar of ice.
And the AV station where the KIDS have to PLEDGE to do their part to save the earth.
We’ve had membership there for years…and with this stupid crap rearing its head I think it is time to end it.
I want my kids educated…not taught the lies of political correctness and climate fraud.
Anthony, thank you for posting this.
I appreciate your and your followers collective efforts to call a spade a spade and send the climate fraudsters running at every opportunity.
Keep up the good work.
“the message is the medium” – shame on you!!!
We are wasting our time even talking these people. Their minds are not just made up ,their minds are mixed up. All liberals are just like this. Alas.
“How do you fel about climate change today?”
If there were only two answers, good and bad, would the selection tell you anything about the responder?
Good because the AGW argument is falling apart?
Good because the US has AGW legislation like new CAFE standards?
Good because a warmer planet sounds nice?
Good because the weather was nice this spring?
Good because the aquarium is helping to get the message out?
etc..
So many wasted words.
North of 43 and south of 44 says:
May 1, 2010 at 6:44 pm
Me thinks, they also need to worry about the other end as well ;-).
_______________________________________________________
Actually it is cow burps that are the problem.
It is really hilarious since it is actually bacteria helping the cow break down the plant matter that causes the methane and CO2 (think beer) Bacteria are eventually going to attack that plant matter whether it is in a cow, passed undigested through a horse or decays after the plant dies on the ground, in a swamp or in a compost heap. It is called a carbon CYCLE for a reason.
Gail Combs says:
May 1, 2010 at 7:32 pm
North of 43 and south of 44 says:
May 1, 2010 at 6:44 pm
Me thinks, they also need to worry about the other end as well ;-).
_______________________________________________________
Actually it is cow burps that are the problem.
It is really hilarious since it is actually bacteria helping the cow break down the plant matter that causes the methane and CO2 (think beer) Bacteria are eventually going to attack that plant matter whether it is in a cow, passed undigested through a horse or decays after the plant dies on the ground, in a swamp or in a compost heap. It is called a carbon CYCLE for a reason.
___________________________________________________________________________
Actually Gail I do believe that what comes out of both ends of a cow is trouble according to the CAGW crowd.
You have methane, and a byproduct that continues to decompose coming out of the hind end.
Trust me, I use a good amount of that decomposing byproduct. In fact I have free access to a rather good mix of composting manure, which I have moved many cubic yards of.
My veggies and flowers just love it and it has certainly done a very good job of loosening up the clay and heavy topsoil that I used to make my raised planting beds.
New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas
Research Centre opened
“Backed by Government funding of
$5 million a year over the next 10
years, the New Zealand Agricultural
Greenhouse Gas Research Centre is
a partnership between AgResearch,
DairyNZ, Landcare Research, Lincoln
University, Massey University, NIWA,
Plant & Food Research, the Pastoral
Greenhouse Gas Research Consortium
(PGgRc) and Scion. Its office is
based at AgResearch Grasslands.
Centre Director Dr Harry Clark says
the Centre brings together key New
Zealand scientists to work on one of
the biggest challenges of our time.
“The Centre will lead and co-ordinate
research to reduce methane and nitrous
oxide emissions, and to increase the
rates of soil carbon accumulation. This
research will underpin the development
of novel, credible and cost-effective
low greenhouse gas (GHG) emitting
production systems that provide
farmers with practical options for
reducing emissions,” he said.
“While agriculture creates about half
of New Zealand’s GHG emissions, it also
generates around 44 per cent of New
Zealand’s merchandise export earnings
and so is a critical contributor to New
Zealand’s livelihood. The challenge is to
find ways for New Zealand to meet its
international GHG emission obligations
without reducing agricultural output.”
The Centre will also play a key role
in New Zealand’s science input into
a world-wide initiative, the Global
Research Alliance (GRA), announced
in Copenhagen last year.”
http://www.agresearch.co.nz/publications/intouch/Mar2010/files/intouchmar2010.pdf
You are right to describe this stunt as junk science. I cannot believe somewhere as supposedly learned as MBA could descend to this level. Recent research is revising the amount of methane emitted by cattle anyway. But a whole of lifecycle analysis is also needed – what would be done to the land if cattle aren’t run – other uses also result in significant greenhouse gases being released. Stunts like this one do not progress the public’s knowledge or understanding of the carbon cycle.
Do they not understand that we are at war with mother nature and we are winning? Smallpox, bubonic plague, yellow fever, TB, polio, malaria, she keeps trying to wipe us out and we fight right back. Most of the planet is uninhabitable 3 seasons out of four, we’ve had to build houses with internal climate control to keep the natural elements from killing us. Most of us would starve to death if we had to depend on mother earth, good thing we cut the apron strings and terraformed the planet to maximize food production. She hits us with crop failures and such here and there, but what with global food distribution, irrigation and so on, its out of her hands. Food born diseases get a few people from time to time but we pretty much caught onto that tactic and have it contained for the most part. She tries a regional stunt every once in a while, earthquackes, volcanos and such, we’ve gotten to the point where we can have relief workers on site saving peoples lives from mother nature in 48 hours or less anywhere in the world. There’s all those wild animals that are fiercer and stronger than we are and would kill us if they could, we have them contained too, we’ll let them live too as long as they don’t get out of line though once in a while one does. We raise animals to kill to eat of course which isn’t natural, and I’m OK with that since we have standards for how we put those animals to death which look pretty good compared to how mother nature does it what with all the rending and stripping of flesh from animals not actually dead yet. Or starving to death when she moves their food supply. Her last serious attempt to eradicate us was what… bird flu? Feeble.
We’re at war with mother nature and we are kicking her butt. We should be proud of ourselves and the standards we have (for the most part) adhered to.
It might be interesting to see exactly how they (MBA) were chartered. Many non-profits are set up as “educational,” “charitable,” or “fraternal” tax-exempts. Such entities are not usually allowed to make political statements without endangering their tax-free status. For example, the Boy Scouts of America or the American Numismatic Association can’t endorse candidates for office. Unless they are set up as an advocacy organization–which would have a whole different set of tax laws to play under–political speech may create a very awkward tax situation for them. I wonder who to report it to?
Such as it is for trust funders. What Julie Packard fails to grasp is the future is built via hard work and an unrelenting desire to improve ones quality of life. When you already have everything you lose touch with what is real and what is important.
Such people have no sensory input whatsoever about the change needed in the world. It is exactly this kind of aristocracy that has caused most of the suffering in the world. Intent only matters if accompanied by understanding.
Julie slashes at her personal demons that reside solely in her imagination. In the real world when environmental action is needed it makes itself felt.
Some days I think I would be better off if I just locked my door, shut off the computer and TV, pulled the shades down and refused to come out from under the covers until all the idiots have received their appropriate Darwin award.
@Tesla_X
“And I am certain her parents would not be happy with what she has become.”
Mr Packard’s foundation, like many with significant assets, has been hijacked by left leaning board members and administration who use the assets to promote their political causes. He was a patriot, business leader, and gentleman but his daughter is a moonbat. Pity.
“Morons.”
says it all!
I have taken my kids to The Monterey Aquarium dozens of times. We used to be members there. The main problem with the climate there is that it is almost always cold in the summer.
Monterey is famous for top notch climate science. Like the Naval Postgraduate School researcher who predicted the Arctic would be ice free by 2013.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7139797.stm
Should be no surprise that the cow, and other food related animals are being targeted. After all the AGW scam was created by the club of rome, who also love the idea of human depopulation.
Same kind of junk at the at the SD Zoo, all over the zoo in fact. They have an update to the polar bear plunge with a 30′ sign about co2, and other nonsense. All the while trying to sell you all kinds of crap made in China. They care about the planet don’t they. Maybe those freighters run on solar power.
Wrt to the cow’s comment:
Hey, I am eating them as fast as I can.
Cows eat grass. They produce methane. Methane combines with oxygen in the air to form CO2. Grass absorbs the CO2 to re-grow. Cows eat the grass…
It’s a cycle with no net effect.
Does not surprise me. The place is loaded with subtle and not so subtle greeny propaganda. Some of the information they present is highly misleading and decidedly spun to support the agenda. I was disappointed by my visit a few years ago, but not really surprised. They have always been run by lefties. One can’t get a degree in any of the biological sciences without being saturated in Marxist ideology. That is why almost all wildlife specialists are moonbats. I could not stomach it. I ended up educating myself. Of course one can’t work in the field without a certificate of brainwashing( aka university degree) thus I make my living as a software engineer specialising in instrumentation and data collection, rather then my other two loves, freshwater ecology and carnivore biology. BTW, one of their propaganda programs is Seafood Watch. Some of the information that organization provide are downright lies.
Al Gore should track down the decendents of the Buffalo Hunters and pay them their Carbon Credits.
Who cares about Methane?
And, what would David Packard say about this?
Make sure to click on all the enviro adds, it’ll cost them money and help WUWT.