Cats and Dogs Contribute Significantly To Climate Change, Says UCLA Study (patch.com)

New submitter Zorro shares a report from Patch.com: When it comes to global warming, Fido and Fluffy are part of the problem, a new study by UCLA indicates. Pet ownership in the United States creates about 64 million tons of carbon dioxide a year, UCLA researchers found. That's the equivalent of driving 13.6 million cars for a year. The problem lies with the meat-filled diets of kitties and pooches, according to the study by UCLA geography professor Gregory Okin. Dogs and cats are responsible for 25 to 30 percent of the impacts of meat production in the United States, said Orkin. Compared to a plant-based diet, meat production "requires more energy, land and water and has greater environmental consequences in terms of erosion, pesticides and waste," the study found. And what goes in, must come out. In terms of waste, Okin noted, feeding pets also leads to about 5.1 million tons of feces every year, roughly equivalent to the total trash production of Massachusetts. The study has been published in the journal PLOS One.

Comments

Re:Leftovers

[Nutria]

Western cat food seems to be mostly meat, but Japanese cat food has a lot more fruit, vegetables and seafood in it.

Seafood isn't meat? You must be, or were raised, Catholic.

Re:Except that

[Quakeulf]

Unfortunately not everyone is capable of learning enough to appreciate a western-style education. (And before anyone screams "racist", isn't it also just "one race, the human race"?)

Re:Leftovers

[jabuzz]

Sorry but pet ownership is significant, and has been a known problem for years. If you want to keep a pet that is fine but you need to be honest with yourself about the environmental and ecological impacts that your choice has.

It's like cat owners denying the massacre of small birds, mammals and reptiles they inflict. You will find many cat owners that are against hunting, yet choose to have a pet that *WILL* massacre the local wildlife population.

Oh and where I life (Scotland) frigging domestic cats and their irresponsible owners are close to driving the Scottish Wildcat to extinction.

Finally 1.5% of carbon output that is completely unnecessary is not to be sniffed at.

Re: How about people ?

[Ol Olsoc]

This is wny the hatred for men on the part of academic women, the very people who should be having more children, is taking us straight to idiocracy.

Nature does not select for intelligence unless it gives increased survival for the species.

The intelligent, educated, but misandrist women in academia and the rest of society have removed themselves from the gene pool.

Now is this going to lead to idiocracy? Probably not. I'm pretty certain that if humanity survives we'll just go back to the dark ages. No electricity, no mechanical transportation. But religion will probably find ascendancy.

As Einstein is attributed saying, "I know not what weapons World War three will be fought with, but World War four will be fought with sticks and stones"