So.... What is a carbon footprint? I have big feet. Is that what they are talking about???
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| Science & Technology |
| Polluting pets: the devastating impact of man's best friend |
| 2009-12-23 |
| Scolds of the world, unite! Man's best friend could be one of the environment's worst enemies, according to a new study which says the carbon pawprint of a pet dog is more than double that of a gas-guzzling sports utility vehicle. That could also be an indication that gas guzzling SUVs aren't as 'orrid as reported. "My SUV has less than half the environmental impact of the average schnauzer. So shuddup and go hawk yer carbon credits elsewhere!" But the revelation in the book "Time to Eat the Dog: The Real Guide to Sustainable Living" by New Zealanders Robert and Brenda Vale has angered pet owners who feel they are being singled out as troublemakers. I'd say the authors have draped themselves in the bright colors characteristic of dishpits. The Vales, specialists in sustainable living at Victoria University of Wellington, analysed popular brands of pet food and calculated that a medium-sized dog eats around 164 kilos (360 pounds) of meat and 95 kilos of cereal a year. Eating! Oh, noze! Combine the land required to generate its food and a "medium" sized dog has an annual footprint of 0.84 hectares (2.07 acres) -- around twice the 0.41 hectares required by a 4x4 driving 10,000 kilometres (6,200 miles) a year, including energy to build the car. How many hectares does your average African herder take up? Maybe they should be killed... No. Wait. I guess they are. I just didn't realize it was eco-friendly to do so. To confirm the results, the New Scientist magazine asked John Barrett at the Stockholm Environment Institute in York, Britain, to calculate eco-pawprints based on his own data. The results were essentially the same. "Owning a dog really is quite an extravagance, mainly because of the carbon footprint of meat," Barrett said. The Hmong in Laos, on the other hand, raise doggies for food. On the third hand, the Hmong on Laos were hunted out pretty well in the Plain of Jars, so I guess they've got a carbon surplus for their depleted numbers. Who keeps score for this nonsense? Other animals aren't much better for the environment, the Vales say. They eat guinea swine in Ecuador, so I guess their eco-pawprints even out in the end. Cats have an eco-footprint of about 0.15 hectares, slightly less than driving a Volkswagen Golf for a year, while two hamsters equates to a plasma television and even the humble goldfish burns energy equivalent to two mobile telephones. Which I'd say means that we've descended deep into the realm of the meaningless statistic. But Reha Huttin, president of France's 30 Million Friends animal rights foundation says the human impact of eliminating pets would be equally devastating. "Pets are anti-depressants, they help us cope with stress, they are good for the elderly," Huttin told AFP. I dunno. We've got a new Labrador retriever at home. Depending on what Fido's chewed it can be pretty stressful. "Everyone should work out their own environmental impact. I should be allowed to say that I walk instead of using my car and that I don't eat meat, so why shouldn't I be allowed to have a little cat to alleviate my loneliness?" Because if you can make your own decisions somebody else is deprived of the mean-spirited little pleasure of telling you what to do. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #20 Given the choice,I would rather share the planet with the dogs I've raised than half the assh*ts that call themselves human. I'm all in favour of a UN Zero CO2 Footprint Day. All of those who wish to hold their breath for the day, knock yourselves out. Dogs and cats are just not that stupid. |
| Posted by: Skunky Glins**** 2009-12-23 22:03 |
| #19 ya ever tried to clean one? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-12-23 21:50 |
| #18 Directly related to their weight. |
| Posted by: notascrename 2009-12-23 21:30 |
| #17 How long can you feed a pet with a Greenie's carcass? |
| Posted by: ed 2009-12-23 20:13 |
| #16 So.... What is a carbon footprint? I have big feet. Is that what they are talking about??? |
| Posted by: BigEd 2009-12-23 19:32 |
| #15 Cash for kitties? I believe Tiger Woods already runs that program. |
| Posted by: P2k on vacation 2009-12-23 18:19 |
| #14 Oh BTW - by the same logic, 100% of the West's wild horses should be put down. Good luck drumming up green support for that. |
| Posted by: Secret Master 2009-12-23 17:00 |
| #13 Sooo... dogs are unnatural? Wolves and coyotes are dogs too; same species. Shall we exterminate them as well. Oh, silly me: the Europeans already have! They're so progressive. |
| Posted by: Secret Master 2009-12-23 16:51 |
| #12 They can have my dog when they pry my cold, dead hands offa her leash. (Assuming she doesn't bite them in the ass first.) |
| Posted by: Cornsilk Blondie 2009-12-23 16:32 |
| #11 On the third hand, the Hmong on Laos were hunted out pretty well in the Plain of Jars, so I guess they've got a carbon surplus for their depleted numbers. On the fourth hand, the North Vietnamese are ecological heros for destroying the Vietnamese economy, Cambodian economy and Laotian economy. Think of how many carbon credits they've saved up! |
| Posted by: Frozen Al 2009-12-23 16:26 |
| #10 Dar, all I ask for is a little leadership by example... :) |
| Posted by: Broadhead6 2009-12-23 15:48 |
| #9 I agree with Broadhead. Even as they're sitting there breathing, they're massacring thousands of poor, defenseless microorganisms. Bleedin' savages! |
| Posted by: Dar 2009-12-23 13:28 |
| #8 I think all self-rightous enviro-tools should commit mass suicide - for the good of the planet. |
| Posted by: Broadhead6 2009-12-23 13:22 |
| #7 That 164 kilos of meat and 95 kilos of cereal turns into 259 kilos of dog poop which is used by the grass and fire hydrants to grow and sequester carbon. ( OK not the fire hydrants ) So, Sod off Swampy |
| Posted by: BrerRabbit 2009-12-23 13:13 |
| #6 look at all the people I employ by having my dog And every one of them leaving their sooty footprints all over our previously carbon-free landscape. It is a little known fact that before the 1900s when America began to industrialze, our atmosphere was *completely* free of CO2. (And to those of you who learned about the Carbon Cycle in 5th grade science class, I say "Just SHUT UP!".) |
| Posted by: SteveS 2009-12-23 12:56 |
| #5 Being a "Jobs First" kind of guy I look at all the people I employ by having my dog. Farmers, pet store workers, vet techs, etc. |
| Posted by: Penguin 2009-12-23 09:50 |
| #4 Cash for kitties??? |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2009-12-23 09:03 |
| #3 I have a cat - does this give me bragging rights or something? |
| Posted by: Raj 2009-12-23 09:00 |
| #2 After we clean out the Animal Shelters, and the Livestock pens and the barns, we can visit the Day Care centers. What's the name of the President's little dog? Bring a shovel. Tiffany and little Bruce, get in the car, we are going to the Lake. The Orphanages are NEXT! You didnt really mean it, you say? Then why say it, if you dont mean it? Getting rid of a problem means "getting rid" of a problem. Or did you just want someone "else" to do it? You gonna gas 'em, or shoot 'em? Then there have to be bulldozers and Mass Graves. Will the people in Hollywood volunteer for a worthy cause? Benji gets it! And Lassie too. A .38 in the ear. Killing is not an abstraction. Its always PERSONAL. They dont go away by magic, y'know. MOST of the pets at the Animal Shelter are put in a large Trash can full of water by a teenager who isnt too gentle about it.. and then they bolt the lid down and drown the animal inside by connecting a water hose to a screw in outlet in the lid and turning it on full. I dont know how you are going to go around Suburbia picking up the pets. You want to use the National Guard? Do you suppose maybe a few families own guns and will "resist"? How much is it worth to you? It's for the Planet, right? You are either serious or you arent. The SS started out by shooting people in Mass Graves, then they graduated to using Police Vans with a hose attached to the Exhaust pipe. Then they built the camps like Belsen and Dachau, Jews, Gypsies, the Mental Hospitals...and now its the turn of Poochie and the Cat. Its for the good of the Planet, after all. We could take the world population levels back to 1930 by the year 2050....if... we... REALLY... tried. |
| Posted by: Angleton9 2009-12-23 08:47 |
| #1 the Vales have a huge carbon footprint. I'd suggest a vote by each of them on which should get whacked...for the planet. Better yet, they could volunteer for suicide, if they're really dedicated |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-12-23 08:32 |