Posted on 10/22/2009 6:22:07 PM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
In my opinion, this over the top idea isn’t sustainable at any level. On a personal note, my cat eats with a footprint more like a Volkswagen microbus. I think I’ll give “Minners” a can of doplhin safe tuna tonight, just for spite.
From Stuff.co.nz
By TANYA KATTERNS – The Dominion Post
Save the planet: time to eat dog?
The eco-pawprint of a pet dog is twice that of a 4.6-litre Land Cruiser driven 10,000 kilometres a year, researchers have found.
Victoria University professors Brenda and Robert Vale, architects who specialise in sustainable living, say pet owners should swap cats and dogs for creatures they can eat, such as chickens or rabbits, in their provocative new book Time to Eat the Dog: The real guide to sustainable living.
The couple have assessed the carbon emissions created by popular pets, taking into account the ingredients of pet food and the land needed to create them.
“If you have a German shepherd or similar-sized dog, for example, its impact every year is exactly the same as driving a large car around,” Brenda Vale said.
“A lot of people worry about having SUVs but they don’t worry about having Alsatians and what we are saying is, well, maybe you should be because the environmental impact … is comparable.”
In a study published in New Scientist, they calculated a medium dog eats 164 kilograms of meat and 95kg of cereals every year. It takes 43.3 square metres of land to produce 1kg of chicken a year. This means it takes 0.84 hectares to feed Fido.
They compared this with the footprint of a Toyota Land Cruiser, driven 10,000km a year, which uses 55.1 gigajoules (the energy used to build and fuel it).
(Excerpt) Read more at wattsupwiththat.com ...
Translation: “Be more Korean and try the other ‘white meat’-—dogs and cats.”
Paging PETA, PETA,
*Pass the popcorn...one whacko group vs. the other whacko group.
““If you have a German shepherd or similar-sized dog, for example, its impact every year is exactly the same as driving a large car around,” Brenda Vale said. “
Really? Didn’t know large cars had that small of an impact.
We were dog sitting for friends up in Buffalo when the famous “October Surprise” snow storm hit a few years ago. When they finally arrived to pick up their pooch I told them that it was a good thing they came when they did because he was one tasty looking little dog.
I think I'll write a Modest Proposal on the carbon footprint of Irish children. Johnathon Swift can be my ghostwriter.
Ten years from now the enviros will be waking up with a huge global warming hangover.
How many additional miles can I drive my truck (6.9l diesel) per dead coyote?
If dogs are a problem, what about elephants? Think of their “eco footprint”.
Everyone should hunt more then, correct?
But I need my bullmastiff bitch to retrieve pups on my annual baby seal clubbing trips to the Great White North.
My cat killed a squirrel this morning. Undoubtedly the squirrel had eaten in my garden and consumed a lot of acorns and hickory nuts. So the cat contributed to a healthy eco system. He even shared his bounty with a neighborhood cat.
I think cows make good pets we can eat. But cows fart too much.
So if we reduce CO2, will we suffocate plants and starve vegetarians?
“If you have a German shepherd or similar-sized dog, for example, its impact every year is exactly the same as driving a large car around,” Brenda Vale said
+++++++++++++++++++++
Which is to say, no impact.
These people have lost their f(*^&ing minds!!
I just like that word gigajoules.
I remember the days when Vietnamese refugees took care of the neighborhood’s stray dogs.
Carbon emissions? Speaking of killing pets, they've beaten this dog to death. Life on earth is carbon based, carbon is not a pollutant.
I'm convinced that those who worship the earth and wail about "carbon footprints" really just want the elimination of humans on the planet. They are very sick people who feel guilty for being alive. I'll glad to help them reduce *their* carbon footprints. Go to the ocean, walk in and don't come out. Good riddance.
I suppose eating aborted babies is even more “sustainable”?
How about eating your own feces? That should save a few CO2 molecules shouldn’t it?
If either of those two things run low, they can start feeding white christian male americans to the world’s hungry masses. Starting with the ones that didn’t vote obama.
Say hello to “Fido” my Ridgeback, “Snickers” the cat, and “Wingy” my order of 12 hot, extra crispy chicken wings. They don’t talk to much, and I wouldn’t get too attached to those little guys.
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