Can a video game, movie or book endear us more to that other non-urban environment called "nature"?
Arguably yes, if the characters are anthropomorphized or made "cute" in a Japanese manga character manner.
That is my guess for this game's social effects. It will create a warm and fuzzy view of nature in kids' minds, without them having to leave the TV.
If only there could be guarantees of no PCBs, dioxins and rusty fish hooks in riverbeds, our kids would be swimming with the fishes! (In the summer.)
Rivers I'd like to see us able to swim in (in sections):
- Sacramento River
- Russian River
- LA River
Where you can swim in a natural habitat now:
- Berkeley's Lake Anza at the Tilden Preserve;
- SF Bay Area beaches (though not recommended for those without wetsuits, and really not recommended for kids and pregnant women due to sewage overflows from places including Marin County, Hillsborough-Burlingame, not to mention car and lawn runoff during storms. Action: Join SF Bay Keeper.);
- Any coastal area in California (in areas marked safe for not having an "undertow" which could drown you underwater and far out at sea.)
It seems that we are limited then to safe chlorine- and acid-treated waters of community and private pools, or spas.
- Kabuki Springs & Spa in SF - highly chlorinated and not nearly scalding enough, but they do have a cold (50 degrees F) tub you can hop in and out of;
- Manteca Waterslides - if it were still open (it isn't) then the State Dept. of Water Resources would probably not allow them to operate this coming summer due to severe drought conditions ("may well be the worst in the state's history" says SacBee, 2/11/09.)
Back to the matter at hand: enoying wild animals, plants and insects in their own habitat. I hope that players of this game will be inspired to step foot out of home to visit one of the Bay Area's many great regional parks. Here, on a hike up Mount Tamalpais, Mission Peak, Mt. Diablo or Pinnacles, kids and adults can enjoy seeing many creatures and trees in person, after first learning their names, traits and habits at the park service visitor center by the park's parking lot.
What about video game and television - does their use trash our planet at all?
Nevermind that video game machines consume power even when turned off, and that your electricity is most likely generated from coal dug up using mountain-top removal methods which destroy the natural environment of... animals.
Here's a cartoon on mountain-top destruction coal mining: Turn it Up Day (below)
