{"id":25876,"date":"2021-08-19T10:51:43","date_gmt":"2021-08-19T17:51:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/hi-lo\/?p=30000021699"},"modified":"2021-08-19T16:24:51","modified_gmt":"2021-08-19T23:24:51","slug":"aquarium-speaker-challenges-the-way-we-think-about-nature-zoos-and-aquariums","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/aquarium-speaker-challenges-the-way-we-think-about-nature-zoos-and-aquariums","title":{"rendered":"Aquarium Speaker Challenges the Way We Think About Nature, Zoos and Aquariums"},"content":{"rendered":"

First Wednesdays at the Aquarium of the Pacific: Emma Marris<\/strong><\/p>\n

Provocative environmental writer Emma Marris doesn\u2019t ask easy questions and she doesn\u2019t expect simple answers \u2014 what she\u2019s after is a good conversation.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s exactly what she\u2019s offering as part of September\u2019s \u2018First Wednesdays\u2019 lecture series at the Aquarium of the Pacific, and in her recently published book \u201cWild Souls: Freedom and Flourishing in the Non-Human World,\u201d as Marris challenges us to change the way we think about nature and our place within it.<\/p>\n

As animal life and human life become ever more intertwined, especially with humankind\u2019s impact on global warming, Marris argues that there might not really be \u201cwild\u201d animals anymore. The Oregon resident says we need to ask ourselves what we owe to the creatures forced to adapt to life so thoroughly changed by us, even if there aren\u2019t any perfect solutions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have really changed the world, and all of the animals that live in it now are basically living in our world, and I think this gives us new responsibilities,\u201d Marris says. \u201cIn this world we\u2019ve created, it\u2019s time for us to take those responsibilities to other species seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n

Providing examples of species facing profound challenges, Marris tells the affecting and inspiring stories of Peruvian monkeys, Australian bilbies, rare Hawai’ian birds and majestic Oregon wolves in her search for sustainability and justice for non-human life.<\/p>\n

Among the animals she\u2019s concerned about, Marris questions the purpose of keeping land and marine life in zoos and aquariums. \u201cIs our pleasure in seeing those creatures up close worth the price of their captivity,\u201d she asks, contending that the practice of breeding animals for display needs to end. She also calls for more focus and financial backing for zoos and aquariums to transition into wildlife sanctuaries and botanical gardens.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Wild Souls, freedom and flourishing in the non-human world.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no unambiguous evidence that zoos are making visitors care more about conservation or take any action to support it,\u201d she recently wrote in the New York Times. \u201cAfter all, more than 700 million people visit zoos and aquariums worldwide every year, and biodiversity is still in decline\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cA fine day out with the family might itself be justification enough for the existence of zoos if the zoo animals are all happy to be there. Alas, there\u2019s plenty of heartbreaking evidence that many are not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those who work in the zoo and aquarium world say this does not paint the full picture.\u00a0After her talk, Marris will participate in a discussion led by\u00a0Aquarium of the Pacific President and CEO Dr. Peter\u00a0Kareiva that will further explore the role zoos and aquariums serve in connecting people with nature.\u00a0The Aquarium hopes this conversation will allow both sides of the issue to exchange views and perhaps evolve their beliefs.<\/p>\n

Dr. Kareiva calls Marris one of today\u2019s most original and articulate environmental thinkers. Inviting her to visit the aquarium for the first time, he says he wants to nurture conversations about nature at the First Wednesdays monthly event series, which include a cocktail hour and reception as well as a variety of thought-provoking lectures, demonstrations and panel discussions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so important that people who may have little in common or conflicting ideas have quality conversations, and the Aquarium of the Pacific can be a forum for sparking great conversations, \u201d he says, noting that First Wednesdays in September promises to be just that.<\/p>\n

\u201cMarris asks not what is, but what should be, when it comes to our relationship with animals,\u201d he says. \u201cShe asks us to ask ourselves what ethics should govern our relationship with animals \u2014 pets, livestock, aquaria and zoo animals, non-native species, native species and novel hybrid organisms\u2026 I hope you\u2019ll be part of that conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n

The free<\/i> presentation \u2014 capped off with a cocktail hour and book signing \u2014 will take place in-person from 7-9 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 1. Reservations are required.<\/p>\n

Click here to reserve your spot<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2018First Wednesdays\u2019 lecture series at the Aquarium of the Pacific nurture conversations about nature and include a cocktail hour and reception as well as a variety of thought-provoking lectures, demonstrations and panel discussions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":201,"featured_media":71681,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[60],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[3245],"class_list":["post-25876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hi-lo","tag-sponsored-by-aquarium-of-the-pacific","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/201"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25876"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25876\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25876"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=25876"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=25876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}