Pets worse than SUVs for the environment...?

Border Collie looking "sheepish" about riding shotgun in a gas-guzzling pickup.


In a new book, two scientist claim "yes" - and it comes down to the particulars of the ecology of food and trophic levels. ABC News reports that the new book "Time to Eat the Dog? the Real Guide to Sustainable Living" is causing a stir, but environmentalists like Lester Brown explain:

"Dogs and cats are carnivores so they consume meat, which means they live rather high on the food chains." "Much higher than the typical person in the sense that most of us -- even those who are omnivorous -- eat a lot of fruits and vegetables and cereals and other things."

Of course, being critical of "man's best friend" can cause its own controversy:

"I think the first instinct should be to look at our own diet and not push off the global warming causes to domesticated animals," Pacelle told ABCNews.com. "If this is their primary thesis, it's an example of over magnified concern and we need to look to our own behaviors, not just energy consumption and transportation, but also our diet."

But isn't our diet their diet? We are co-domesticates, after all.

Of course certain nasty and daft habits increase that carbon footprint even more...!


AY