If you want people to care about the environment, give them a
close call with a whale, turtle or dolphin.  University of
Queensland (U-Q) researchers found that people had a powerful
response to meeting a marine animal if it was not in captivity.
A research team led by Roy Ballantyne from U-Q School of Tourism
has been studying the changes made by people in their daily
lives after coming into contact with a marine animal.  Senior
research fellow Jan Packer said people became more conscious of
disposing of plastic bags, not flushing waste down drains and
recycling.  They were still acting on this awareness four months
after their visits, Packer said.  The team found up to seven
percent of people made changes to their environmental behaviour
after visiting turtle rookeries and after going on whale
watching trips, according to an UQ release.  Those going whale
watching were most likely to still be thinking green after four
months, Packer said.  "At the sites where the animals are non-
captive there was a more po