Time to Eat the Dog? Weird Green Living Advice

Imagine carefully feeding your beloved and faithful dog a healthy diet that will help him grow fat and juicy, eyeing him one day and declaring, “Yep, it’s time to eat the dog.” That’s what two professors at Victoria University in New Zealand are proposing we consider – sort of – after finding that our choice in pets causes our carbon footprints to balloon out of control.

From the Dominion Post:

The couple have assessed the carbon emissions created bypopular 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). One hectare of land can produce 135 gigajoules a year, which means the vehicle’s eco-footprint is 0.41ha – less than half of the dog’s.

Despite the title of their new book – Time to Eat the Dog: The real guide to sustainable living – Brenda and Robert Vale don’t really want you to serve Fido burgers at your next cookout. They are urging people to consider taking herbivorous food animals like goats as pets instead of dogs and cats.

The carbon footprint of our pets is probably something that most people haven’t really thought about, but while dogs and cats may not provide food or eat the most earth-friendly diets, they provide comfort and companionship that most people aren’t willing to give up. And, it’s highly unlikely that cities are going to begin allowing people to keep cows in suburban backyards or geese in their apartments.

Though some people can get away with having goats, chickens and rabbits as pets, not all of us can or want to – and an important way to offset the impact of dog and cat ownership is to adopt unwanted animals at shelters instead of buying from breeders. (And be sure to spay and neuter!)

Link [The Dominion Post]
Photo credit: HahaStop.com

Left Hanging: Line-Drying Your Clothes Could Be Illegal!

Did you know line-drying your undies might get you a slap on the wrist by your condo association? Point blank, it’s “unaesthetic”. (Not that McCondo’s are anything for the architectural record books). According to a Los Angeles Times article,

“Homeowner associations recognize that if people throw their clothes
over their fences and patio walls that their homes won’t be as
aesthetically attractive,” said Richard S. Monson, president of the
California Assn. of Homeowners Assns. “We’re criticized for this, but
what it’s doing is protecting home values.”

Many homeowner associations seem to believe that the act of air drying clothing present their developments as being low-income:

“In some minds, though, clotheslines connote a landscape of poverty
rather than flowering fields. Opponents of the proposed legislation
say homeowners’ groups have the right to protect property values by
forbidding practices they consider unsightly, such as storing junk
cars in driveways – and hanging wet laundry outside.” [Boston.com]

Strong statements for a simple household act humans have engaged in since the start of time. According to line drying advocacy group Project Laundry List, dryers account for 6% of US energy consumption. They’re working to change homeowner’s associations rules by supporting a Right to Dry bill which has been in the political arena since 1999. Afterall, in lean times, line-drying is an easy way to cutback on your energy bill and air drying preserves the quality of your clothing much longer.

The electric dryer is yet another industrial age invention that may be ready for an overhaul since the design and general mechanism has not changed in over 100 years. In hard times, don’t we find that sometimes the simplest solutions are the best? After all, microwaves cook food fast and make it convenient, but is it ever really “good”?

- Carole Snow Wefler

This is our first post from guest blogger Carole Snow Wefler. If you’d like to write for us, send an email to dorothee@see3.net.

We’re Dreaming of a Green Christmas

“Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, global warming had wiped out the endangered field mouse. The stockings were hung by the big solar panels, while Jimmy was watching the Planet Green Channel.” – MC Lars

Wishing you a very merry, green Christmas!

-From the EarthFirst team