Conservation Messages in the park by CM's

[DisneylandPlanner]

I just attended a conference this week that talked about how at WDW some of their CM's keep track of the number of conservation messages they say to the public. They mentioned Animal Kingdom but I was wondering if this was done at DL!

[minnietoo]

Re: Conservation Messages in the park by CM's

what is the definition of a conservation message?

[FrumiousBoojum]

Re: Conservation Messages in the park by CM's

You know, the stuff that corporations spout out to make them feel better about themselves because it makes them feel they are more enviornmentally aware and care about the earth and other concepts that nobody actually seems to understand...

As far as I know, the only places that need these kinds of messages shoved down the guests throat is The Land at Epcot and Animal Kingdom.

[thejoshualee]

Re: Conservation Messages in the park by CM's

There is a difference between education and indoctrination. Saying things like, "The destruction of habitat has driven this animal to near extinction" I consider environmental education. Saying "Unless we conserve the water we have, the world will one day run out" is environmental indoctrination (not to mention a lie)

I have no beef with education, but indoctrination is what usually happens.

And I haven't heard much about it in Disneyland ever.

[FrumiousBoojum]

Re: Conservation Messages in the park by CM's

I've never been able to figure out how Earth will be void of water if we don't conserve. Water is a pretty renewable resource and the non-drinkable water can usually be filtered and purified into drinkable water...

I also hate it when they say recycling one can will power a lightbulb for an hour -- with no explanation how these things are connected in the first place!

Why don't they ever mention how your week's worth of trash can help power a house for a month?

[The Mad Hatter]

Re: Conservation Messages in the park by CM's

I also hate it when they say recycling one can will power a lightbulb for an hour -- with no explanation how these things are connected in the first place!

Because cans are like batteries...duh.

[FrumiousBoojum]

Re: Conservation Messages in the park by CM's

I still haven't been able to power my car on a 24 pack of coke!

[Disnerd]

Re: Conservation Messages in the park by CM's

That's cause your using diet.

[FrumiousBoojum]

Re: Conservation Messages in the park by CM's

Bleh.. no I'm not! I'm using the best Coca~Cola Classic available!

[doombuggy driver]

Re: Conservation Messages in the park by CM's

Try Dr Pepper!

[BoygunaSurf]

Re: Conservation Messages in the park by CM's

One time I was about to drop the remainder of my turkey leg into a trash can when this haggard looking gentleman grabbed my arm and whispered..."you don't want to be doin that!"

[wulfblat]

Re: Conservation Messages in the park by CM's

Indoctrination/Eduction sidelight: the amount of electrical energy it takes to extract aluminum from its ore, bauxite, is quite high -- this is the main reason Alcoa set up a major aluminum smelter alongt the Columbia River: for the cheap hydroelectrical power (Alcoa actually lays off employees and shuts down the smelter when the price of electricity is high, and then sells "their share" back to the power grid, but that's a different issue). It really does take a lot less energy to melt existing aluminum for reuse. Unfortunately this message gets lost in all the hype.

[Melonballer]

Re: Conservation Messages in the park by CM's

Thanks for the info Wulfblat. I've learned something today!

[FrumiousBoojum]

Re: Conservation Messages in the park by CM's

Indoctrination/Eduction sidelight: the amount of electrical energy it takes to extract aluminum from its ore, bauxite, is quite high -- this is the main reason Alcoa set up a major aluminum smelter alongt the Columbia River: for the cheap hydroelectrical power (Alcoa actually lays off employees and shuts down the smelter when the price of electricity is high, and then sells "their share" back to the power grid, but that's a different issue). It really does take a lot less energy to melt existing aluminum for reuse. Unfortunately this message gets lost in all the hype.

And that's why cans are one of the few things I'm willing to recycle.

But, my problem is that with the facts they usually spew out all the time, you might as well say "Recyling kitchen grease will save a cow from having a bad case of diarrhea while taking winter holiday on the Moon of Endor." It's about as meaningless as saying that a can will power anything without any reason. When I was hearing that all the time as a kid, I asked people why that was so and nobody knew... it just became meaningless environmental propoganda.

[DisneylandPlanner]

Re: Conservation Messages in the park by CM's

Not being around yesterday I was kind of surprised by the turn this thread took.

But to answer Minnietoo's question conservation (to me) is the art of using resources (water, air, vegetation, soil, etc.) provided but not over using them so we cause additional problems. Or as I like to say doing what we want to today and still being able to do it tomorrow. It is a balancing act between using in excess and impacting life day to day.

I've never been able to figure out how Earth will be void of water if we don't conserve. Water is a pretty renewable resource and the non-drinkable water can usually be filtered and purified into drinkable water...

This statement although true is not accurate. Water is a renewable resource but there are 2 concerns about water (quantity and quality). In LA quantity is a big concern due to the lack of watersheds in southern California to provide water to the population. So conserve typically means reduce usage. But the other side quality has to do with having a clean, abundant drink water supply. The conservation way of looking at the problem is to see what we can do now to get the water needed to areas that do not have enough local water and how we can minimize the need for filtering water the in future.

The world conservation has not been taunted like environmentalist but to think they are the same is incorrect.

All I wanted to know is if there were CM's educated in the conservation practices of Disney like :water usage for the rivers of America, the work Disney has done improving fireworks, recycling efforts, etc so they can share them with guests.

[xfkirsten]

Re: Conservation Messages in the park by CM's

^very well-said, DisneylandPlanner.

There can be side effects with a lot of water use, too, in some situations. For instance, the blueberry farms in Maine use a lot of water from nearby streams to help grow larger and more plentiful blueberries. Unfortunately, this a) drops the water level of the streams and b) raises the temperature of the streams. It's had a pretty devastating effect on the salmon runs. Now, clearly something like that isn't an issue in every case.

There's a lot of folks from the LA area on these boards. In the 1940's, LA began diverting water from the tributaries of Mono Lake (in eastern CA) to supply water to LA residents. The volume of the lake was cut by half, and the salinity doubled, triggering a collapse in the local ecosystem. At the same time, the farmers in the Mono Lake area lost their water and their livelihood. Entire towns there are now deserted. That area now has huge levels of particulate in the air because it's so dusty (from the exposed lake bed) - overall air quality is horrible, to the point of violating the Clean Air Act.

It's not neccessarily how much water you're using, but where you're getting your water from that can have a big effect on the environment and the other people of California. Just something to be aware of.