Aquariums

As someone who is adamantly opposed to aquariums (and zoos but that’s for another rant), I hear the same tired arguments all the time:

“It gives people a chance to appreciate ocean life first hand”

Actually I think it does the opposite, by turning the complex workings of an ocean into a sideshow. I think that keeping wild animals captive insults and patronizes how intelligent these animals are (and they are intelligent, whales are just behind humans and apes in intelligence).What kind of respect for nature is being taught when keeping animals in confined spaces for personal motives is the example being set? (Just to be clear, I’m not talking about starfish or algae rather the larger animals that are forced to live in tanks)

“It provides priceless education”

Not buying it. Does every single man, woman and child need to go into space to learn about or understand it?

“Aquariums serve as a sanctuary for rescued animals”

This one is outright laughable. The mortality rate is high for animals that are captured for captivity, both during the capturing process and during their life in captivity. In addition, how are we determining what animals need to be rescued? The Vancouver Aquarium for example, is allowed to capture or import wildlife if it is in ‘distress’ however there are various definitions for distress. The animal could very well be in distress due to the enormous boat chasing it. Then animals are only kept if they can not be rehabilitated, although the larger mammals are rarely released (it might have something to do with their value, an orca whale is worth approx $25,000).

I’ve never heard anyone argue that these creatures are happier in their tanks because I guess not even the biggest tools believe that anymore. Whales and dolphins spend their lives covering thousands of miles while travelling in groups, singing and composing songs that they will repeat every year. This a lifestyle that is completely denied to them in an aquarium. And although it’s very nice of aquariums to ‘rescue’ animals in ‘distress’, their track record argues that they can’t provide a healthy life environment: http://www.straight.com/print/151900, or http://www.peta.org/factsheet/files/FactsheetDisplay.asp?ID=63

“The animals have trainers that love them”

I have no doubt that trainers love the animals that they work with however it’s beside the point and completely naive. Isolation and withholding food are common methods to train these animals despite how much they love them.

I guess my biggest gripe is not with the people who capture these sea animals, the selfish trainers, nor is it with the fat cats who run aquariums; it’s with the people creating a demand for such a spectacle. Paying money to see a lonely animal confined to swimming circles in an empty tank isn’t my idea of entertainment. It just seems like a sad paradox that we consider ourselves the most advanced species on the planet but forcing a depressed animal to jump around in the water for food is what will still consider entertaining.

Celebrities

Celebrities can be really irritating and I'm not just talking about the narcissism, indulgence, and insulting our intelligence with half the things they hawk at us.

No, what I am rambling about today is 'green celebrities'. Now, I know there are some stars that are generally committed to an ecologically balanced future but for the most part it's really hard to take them seriously when they're never seen wearing an outfit twice.

Who am I going to pick on today? Jennifer Aniston. I recently read that she has gone ‘green’ by cutting down her water consumption by brushing her teeth in the shower…. Ok that doesn’t really work. Isn’t brushing your teeth in the shower like leaving a huge faucet running while you brush?

Also, the woman is a spokesperson for bottled water. Bottled water is not only an enormously ridiculously concept (we pay up to a 300% markup on something WE GET FOR FREE), but the whole industry creates large amounts of waste, consumes oil (measure a quarter of the water in the bottle and that’s the amount of oil it takes to produce it), and even recycling the containers puts fumes in the air.

So it seems you’re a friend of the environment if you promote an extremely un-environmental product, jet around the world, and eat meat as long as you try and multi-task in your shower in your mansion.

Therefore if celebrities are as influential as they seem to think they are then they partially to blame for the incredibly low standards we seem to hold ourselves to.