San Diego Zoo

College has infinitely changed my perception of how the world works, how much wealthy societies hold themselves above everything else in this world -- whether this means poverty-stricken areas, animals, and the health of this planet. I am so lucky to have access to the amount of information I do and, yet, I marvel at how many of my peers and fellow citizens don't realize it and the extent to which we exploit and abuse (whether deliberately or inadvertently) the world around us.

I paid a visit to the San Diego Zoo this past weekend, a fairly normal tourist exercise. The weather was fantastic (summer is here!!) and I've never been to Balboa Park before. It was really awesome to see such a huge piece of land dedicated to providing greenspace to visitors and city-dwellers as well as the education of people in many different areas (eg, museum of natural history, aeronautics, botannical garden, cars).

Back to the Zoo. As we walked around "visiting" the wildlife, I felt a growing sense of unease. Of course this was largely due to the zoo-like environment, whereby children were running around screaming and parents were attempting to run after them (designer strollers and all), but it was mostly because I simply couldn't enjoy the Zoo in the same way I did, even 5 or 6 years ago. (I was arguably an "adult" 5 or 6 years ago ;) )

I had the natural queasiness (as I've always had, but have typically been able to ignore) of seeing wild animals in confinement. They were cute and furry and scaley and feathery, just as I had remembered them to be. But there was something so strange about seeing them in this state here and now.

It hit me. The Zoo wasn't REALLY trying to promote animal protection in the wild or conservation, which has always justified caging a few them but exploit them instead. Zoos should raise money for a "greater" cause and the few poor things trapped in there would be martyrs to this cause. Instead, the Zoo was committing a grave betrayal - capitalizating on their existence at every turn, in such a gross and unrestrained fashion.

Firstly, there was a horde of visitors. It doesn't really matter how "used to it" animals are to being gawked at - it must be agitating to have people waving their arms at you and yelling, especially so many of them at once! There were crowds around every exhibit and if the animal didn't "perform" it was antagonized by the children and their families alike. Regulating the visitors a little more would have been the most compassionate and the easiest move to make, even if it meant slowly down the dollars a little.

Secondly, the Zoo was hypocritically wasteful. There were recycle bins but the Zoo spent way more time and attention to designing these monstrous plastic souvenir cups, encouraging visitors towards these products. Some of the foodstands had biodegradable forks and sppons, yet everything else was made of styrofoam. There was an glass display about recyclable plastics and yet almost all of the benches in the Zoo were not recycled plastic. It was horrific and pitiful.

How could I go to a Zoo and not learn a single thing about conversation - either from a global standpoint and from a personal one? How could there not be a single push for "compassionate technology" for the environment? How could there be no emphasis on how the average joe could take some responsibility for his environment?

Southern California is hot and sunny; what about solar panels to relieve some of the power demands?

Southern California is hot and sunny and DRY; what about water conservation? Encouraging visitors to not buy bottled sodas and water? What about transforming that slushy cup into something that is more practical and resuable? What about bathrooms with low-flow?

America is obsese and unhealthy; what about offering visitors a food option that isn't about ravaging the environment or injected with preservatives and hormones?

These aren't economically unfeasible options. They might detract from profit a little bit, but will save money and energy in the future. Plus, it's also just a nice thing to do to not over-stimulate the animals (and people!!) and not make us fat and unhealthy at the same time.

Unfortunately, like many things in this world and particularly America, the Zoo is just another business. It's just particularly upsetting when it occurs at such a severe degree at a place that espouses preservation and loving animals and protection. And unnerving when it occurs at a place that pretends to nurture the endangered.

The first thing we can do doesn't even have to be based in technology, it's simply to be informed and observant of the things going on around us. Change occurs in small steps, of course, and being aware is the first step to mobilizing for a greater action. The Zoo is just one place among so many that can alter its practices and set a good example. It's hard to ask people to switch up their entire lives, but there's always small "sacrifices" that can eventually be a thoughtless, automatic and seamless incorporation. Awareness is clutch and while being a discerning individual can be hard, it's certainly a choice that many of us can make.