Climate change activists are now arguing that simply owning a dog can increase a person’s carbon footprint. A finding published in PNAS Nexus says that, supposedly, people overestimate the climate benefits of activities like recycling or switching light bulbs. At the same time, they underestimate other beneficial impacts, such as taking fewer flights. “We think, ‘I have to recycle this and it will help the planet,’” Madalina Vlasceanu, an assistant professor of environmental social sciences at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, told the Greater Good Magazine. “It’s less likely you will hear that if you fly less, that’s the...