Park board commissioner seeks referendum on Vancouver Aquarium

[Hourglass]

The threat of legal action is probably the most effective way to shut down the discussion and point out the fact that MacKinnon is talking out of his ass. After all, he should be aware of the binding nature of the agreement the park board has with the aquarium...

It's nonsensical. With all the environmental issues in the world today, surely MacKinnon can find a better platform than focusing on the marine mammals in Stanley Park. The aquarium is just an easy target for him to raise his profile.

[twoNeurons]

Now I have a kids' song in my head.
• Video Link

[BCPhil]

The Vancouver Aquarium is one of the world leading centres for marine research, conservation and marine animal rehabilitation. It accomplishes this feat while being 100% self supportive, not recieving a single government dime. If in the process of saving and studying animals, the aquarium can make money off educating and entertaining the public with animals it has saved from death, so that it has more money to save more animals, what is the problem? It sounds like the most perfect situation imaginable. The public is interested in these animals and goes to and pays the aquarium to learn about them, in return the aquarium uses the money to save animals from death.

Bringing up this motion now is soapbox ideologue politicking at it's worst.

[SpongeG]

here is a blog entry about the place from a family visiting from California...

http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2010/07/vancouver-aquarium-is-a-great-stop-on-a-geek-family-vacation/

note the comments... one nut job the rest reasonable

[mr.x]

^ those comments bring up a great point...I remember the Aquarium's efforts to save Luna years ago, luring him/her back to her pod. Then the First Nations interfered with the operation, luring back the whale to the coast with their canoes thinking the orca was their god or whatever spirit. They killed it.

[Yume-sama]

lol if that wasn't true that'd be so sad and funny at the same time.

[Conrad Yablonski]

maybe i'm getting old, but the whale show seems dated and cheesy...

It's not age it's maturity something most posters on this thread are sorely lacking in.

Originally Posted by nova9

.....they are wild ambassadors for the rest of the species outside the Aquarium.....

The statement as quoted is so stupid/so ugly/so wrong I have no idea where to start.Maybe calling the poster an intellectual antique would be a start.

Leaving aside entrenched nutcase political positions on both sides it's painfully apparent the Aquarium is a way of presenting science out of the 19th century-if a person wants to see wild Cetacea here they can do so nearby-this is a picture taken 08/08/08 in English Bay-a 20 minute bike ride and a 5 minute boat ride from where I live in Kitsilano.









On a personal note-some of you really need to get out of the city and have a look @ what nature still offers-you're so caught up in yourselves you have little idea what exists right on your doorsteps.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by Conrad Yablonski

It's not age it's maturity something most posters on this thread are sorely lacking in.

The statement as quoted is so stupid/so ugly/so wrong I have no idea where to start.Maybe calling the poster an intellectual antique would be a start..

Ah yes, the sneering condecension of the Left. Always so refreshing.

[mr.x]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Ah yes, the sneering condecension of the Left. Always so refreshing.

Like I've said before...the far left - arrogance; the far right - ignorance.

[Hourglass]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Ah yes, the sneering condecension of the Left. Always so refreshing.

Doesn't everyone live in Kits?

[SpongeG]

with our kayaks at the ready to see the abundant killer whales

[mr.x]

I'd love to see thousands of people each day taking boat rides out into the open just to see the whales....so much more ecologically friendly than going down to the aquarium to see the whales and 'phins that were previously injured and can't be rehabilitated, NOT.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

with our kayaks at the ready to see the abundant killer whales

While wearing our Lululemon and clutching a latte in one hand and an iPhone in the other!

[nova9]

Originally Posted by Conrad Yablonski

It's not age it's maturity something most posters on this thread are sorely lacking in.



The statement as quoted is so stupid/so ugly/so wrong I have no idea where to start.Maybe calling the poster an intellectual antique would be a start.

Then please propose a model in which the Aquarium would still survive without any cetaceans or mammals? And if you wanted the Aquarium permanently closed, how would you continue the research and conservation programs that are lost?

Why don't you stop being an idealogue and actually contribute? You type of people make me want to stop voting left.

And as for heading out on a kayak to watch whales? Well, as an educator, without the Aquarium, there will be whole generations of students that will not experience anything apart of urban/suburban life as their families cannot afford to take them on these expensive excursions just to see these magnificent creatures. They will then never learn about how we are impacting their environment and we lose any outreach opportunities to a large segment of the population.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by nova9

Why don't you stop being an idealogue and actually contribute? You type of people make me want to stop voting left..

Come over to the Dark Side, we're more reasonable.

But seriously you're right. Anyone who has ever taken a kid to the Aquarium understands what a valuable tool it is for connecting them to marine ecology and making them a lifelong supporters of acting as sustainably as possible regarding the oceans. Shame the Loony Left won't acknowledge that.

[Metro-One]

Originally Posted by nova9

Then please propose a model in which the Aquarium would still survive without any cetaceans or mammals? And if you wanted the Aquarium permanently closed, how would you continue the research and conservation programs that are lost?

Why don't you stop being an idealogue and actually contribute? You type of people make me want to stop voting left.

And as for heading out on a kayak to watch whales? Well, as an educator, without the Aquarium, there will be whole generations of students that will not experience anything apart of urban/suburban life as their families cannot afford to take them on these expensive excursions just to see these magnificent creatures. They will then never learn about how we are impacting their environment and we lose any outreach opportunities to a large segment of the population.

You are in the exact situation I am. I have always been a left leaning person, but left side politics these days seem to have become overrun by extreme special interest groups.

I wish we had a left leaning party that was based around strong public healthcare, education and transportation. Those were the left side virtues of old, not all this modern crap.

And then when I look at the right, I see their old politics being polluted by anti-gay and extreme religious crap.

What happened to politics in North America???!!!!

[Yume-sama]

You have to be looking with a microscope to see anti-gay, religious extremism, in any party in Canada. Don't confuse Canadian politics with American~

And what's happened in North America is, we're repeating the mistakes Europe made that sent them down the hole economically. Fun times ahead

Interestingly, Europe is getting more and more conservative, as we get more and more liberal.

[SpongeG]

haven't looked back - but global just said on its report - the Aquariums lease ends in 2015 and thats why the issue is up now - but also the aquairum has arranged for a number of speakers to go to the meeting tomorrow night

[Yume-sama]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

haven't looked back - but global just said on its report - the Aquariums lease ends in 2015 and thats why the issue is up now - but also the aquairum has arranged for a number of speakers to go to the meeting tomorrow night

I don't think their lease ends, at least, CBC was reporting they had recently signed 25 years or so, but the review of the whale / dolphin program comes up in 2015.

[Zassk]

A lot of sites and newscasts have mis-stated it as being the lease that comes up in 2015. CTV, Global, Globe&Mail, National Post... even one of the articles in the Vancouver Sun said it.