Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

The environmental footprint of your pet is bigger than you think (Fido & Fluffy gotta go - first)
The Verge ^ | 8/04/17 | Alessandra Potenza

Posted on 02/16/2019 6:21:18 PM PST by Libloather

Bad news for environmentally conscious pet owners: cats’ and dogs’ eating habits are responsible for dumping as many as 64 million tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere every year — roughly the equivalent of driving over 13 million cars. That’s due to all the meat our furry friends gobble down, according to new research.

There are more than 163 million dogs and cats in the US, and they just love to eat. In fact, cats and dogs in the US consume about 19 percent as many calories as people do in the US, or about as much as 62 million Americans, according to a new study published in Plos One. Because much of that food is meat, and meat production is known to heavily contribute to climate change, our pets leave a pretty stark carbon footprint on our environment.

**SNIP**

By calculating the number of dogs and cats in the US, their average weights, and ingredients in pet foods, Okin tallied the carbon footprint of our animal friends. His findings: American cats and dogs consume about 19 percent as many calories as people do in the US; and because they’re mainly meat-eaters, they consume about 30 percent of the animal-derived calories that people consume. They also produce 30 percent as much poop as Americans do. (If all those feces were disposed as garbage, it’d be equivalent to the total trash produced by over 6 million Americans, or approximately the population of Massachusetts, the study says.) All in all, American cats and dogs are responsible for producing about 64 million tons of methane and nitrous oxide, two powerful greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change, according to Okin’s calculations.

(Excerpt) Read more at theverge.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Editorial; Government; News/Current Events; US: Michigan; US: Minnesota; US: New York; US: Vermont
KEYWORDS: berniesanders; buildthefence; cat; climatechange; daca; dog; dreamact; dreamers; fake; globalwarming; globalwarminghoax; greennewdeal; hoax; ilhanomar; methane; michigan; minnesota; newyork; ocasiocortez; rashidatlaib; vegan; vegans; vegetarians; vermont
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-62 next last
To: Libloather

I’m sure the carbon footprint of the average hypocritical Leftist is much larger.


41 posted on 02/16/2019 7:43:12 PM PST by Crucial
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Libloather

Vegan pet food causes heart disease in dogs. Eff you Okin. Come try to take my dogs.


42 posted on 02/16/2019 7:51:24 PM PST by MarMema (don't forget to stock up on dogfood)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Libloather

The fifteen pound king of the house is like a buzzsaw if you mess with him and he ain’t in the mood. Pulling his tail is fun if you are fast enuff.


43 posted on 02/16/2019 8:01:56 PM PST by dynachrome (Build the wall, deport them all.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: HotKat
"ashes of our furry friends"

My backyard would be a crime scene if anyone dug into the ground.

With all the pets, squirrels and opposums buried there.

Dog will be next. He is 19 1/2 years old.

44 posted on 02/16/2019 8:04:27 PM PST by Deaf Smith (When a Texan takes his chances, chances will be taken that's fore sure)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 35 | View Replies]

To: blueplum

Another great reason to love dogs.


45 posted on 02/16/2019 8:12:33 PM PST by wjcsux (The hyperventilating of the left means we are winning! (Tagline courtesy of Laz.))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: Man from Oz

#19. My Maine Coon Fluffy has breath so bad it takes the paint off the walls. Saves me from having to do it myself.

The old Cow Farts theme was put forth by a pro-Hanoi con-artist named Jeremy Rifkin (People’s Bicentennial Commission, People’s Business Commission, Citizens Commission of Inquiry Into U.S. War Crimes in Vietnam). He conned businesses into giving him money for his fake PBC organizations regarding damage to the environment, but the beef industry had a beef with him and helped lead the counter-attack against him. This eventually stopped him for a while.

To which we said “Bull shit”.


46 posted on 02/16/2019 8:12:41 PM PST by MadMax, the Grinning Reaper (with)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]

To: mrsmith
> “What do you like? Well, it’s gotta go!”- Your friendly econut.

Precisely. And that is especially true when that thing allows you more independence from a government agency...

47 posted on 02/16/2019 8:19:46 PM PST by SecondAmendment (This just proves my latest theory ... LIBERALS RUIN EVERYTHING!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: Libloather

I’m not giving up my dogs or my guns!


48 posted on 02/16/2019 8:23:38 PM PST by TexasRepublic (Socialism is the gospel of envy and the religion of thieves. Socialism is governmental theft!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: W.

You can have my Papillon when you pry it out of my cold dead fur covered hands.

L


49 posted on 02/16/2019 9:25:05 PM PST by Lurker (Peaceful coexistence with the Left is not possible. Stop pretending it is.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: keving

Erf has been this way for millenia. And suddenly it’s wrong according to the eco-overlords. Kill all the cows, dogs and cats. What’s next? Humans (post-birth)? Wouldn’t surprise me at all. Flaming lunatics.


50 posted on 02/16/2019 10:11:43 PM PST by bluejean (I'm becoming a cranky old person. It really annoys me.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Black Agnes

Add to that list:
Horses
Rabbits
Elk
Moose
Bear
Antelope
Sheep
Llama
Goats
Pigs
Caribou
Water Buffalo
Zebra
and....
anything else that eats to survive.
Might as well stop all 1500 active
volcanos from spewing tons of this
toxic stuff into the atmosphere also.
I don’t know for sure, but I’ll bet
even fish fart.


51 posted on 02/16/2019 10:55:42 PM PST by Lean-Right (Eat More Moose)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: Libloather

Bookmark


52 posted on 02/16/2019 11:19:01 PM PST by aquila48
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Man from Oz

You are probably buying pet food that has soybean as an ingredient and that is the source of the excess farts in your pet. Do a google for “pet food ingredients” and educate yourself on what pets are being fed. Learn to read the ingredients label on the food bag to find better food for your pet.


53 posted on 02/16/2019 11:35:28 PM PST by LaMudBug
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]

To: Libloather; SunkenCiv

What about my parrot? He’s a vegan, though I bet if I had this news story on paper he’d like to poop on it.


54 posted on 02/16/2019 11:47:57 PM PST by Berosus (I wish I had as much faith in God as liberals have in government.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Black Agnes

“They need to calculate the volume of deer poop.”

A full grown goat wearing a collar showed up at my door and demanded in. I walked him around the (well wooded) neighborhood on a rope until I found a new home for him. He pooped constantly, dropping a bucket of pellets along the way. His sphincter muscle never seemed to close. (He never stopped eating. As we walked, he’d snatch a leaf covered stem or a bit of grass. He was a walking vegetation to poop conversion machine.)


55 posted on 02/17/2019 3:20:36 AM PST by Gen.Blather
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: Lean-Right

For years our military and some in Europe attempted to find a secret Soviet submarine weapon to no avail. The Soviets insisted they were not even operating in those waters at that time and we were making the whole thing up to start a war.

Eventually turned out to be schools of scared herring simultaneously farting as a defensive mechanism.


56 posted on 02/17/2019 7:17:26 AM PST by gnarledmaw (Hive minded liberals worship leaders, sovereign conservatives elect servants.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 51 | View Replies]

To: Libloather

This is idiotic. Perhaps the study authors should study the carbon cycle before they rush to publish more bilge like this.

I wonder if they did an equivalent study of the environmental impact of all of the wild animals. Probably not.


57 posted on 02/19/2019 4:05:38 AM PST by exDemMom (Current visual of the hole the US continues to dig itself into: http://www.usdebtclock.org/)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Libloather

Note to enviroweenies: Cats are obligate carnivores, dimwits.


58 posted on 02/19/2019 4:15:14 AM PST by mewzilla (Break out the mustard seeds.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: LostInBayport
You have my sympathies. I recently lost my cat. I know, he was only a brute animal, but he gave me a great deal of pleasure. He'd curl up on my lap while I read the paper or a book. He reciprocated the affection I showed him. I can't ask more of a pet than that.
59 posted on 02/25/2019 7:04:18 PM PST by JoeFromSidney (Colonel (Retired) USAFgt.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 31 | View Replies]

To: JoeFromSidney

Thanks Joe, and sympathies to you as well. It hurts to lose a friend, especially one with whom you shared a home. But happy memories remain.


60 posted on 02/25/2019 8:01:09 PM PST by LostInBayport (When there are more people riding in the cart than there are pulling it, the cart stops moving...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 59 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-62 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson