What's your pet's carbon footprint?

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In summary: Anyway, I still think that if people really want to make a difference they should try to have as few children as possible. And that goes for humans, animals, plants, etc.I seem to remember that dog and cat food are made mostly from animal by-products, i.e. the parts that people don't ordinarily eat, and so their food doesn't really add as much as claimed.
  • #1
Evo
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According to a new book

Man's best friend could be one of the environment's worst enemies, according to a new study which says the carbon pawprint of a pet dog is more than double that of a gas-guzzling sports utility vehicle.

Cats have an eco-footprint of about 0.15 hectares, slightly less than driving a Volkswagen Golf for a year, while two hamsters equates to a plasma television and even the humble goldfish burns energy equivalent to two mobile telephones.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091220/sc_afp/lifestyleclimatewarminganimalsfood

This makes me wonder how much just the overpopulation of humans contributes to "global warming". Has anyone ever done the calculations? I've heard that 2 billion humans is the ideal global population and we are currently at 6,791,500,000.
 
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  • #2
Evo said:
This makes me wonder how much just the overpopulation of humans contributes to "global warming". Has anyone ever done the calculations? I've heard that 2 billion humans is the ideal global population and we are currently at 6,791,500,000.
I was thinking the exact same thing the other day.
 
  • #3
I'm sure someone has done the calculations. Though, to me, just the daily needs of "critters" for actually living are part of the natural things that happen on the planet, and I think it's irrelevant whether they are wild or domestic animals (including humans). The problem is when we add to all of that with "artificial" sources, by digging up carbon sources that have long ago been sequestered deep under the surface of the Earth and spewing it back into the atmosphere. (And then of course the even bigger problem being finding any sort of agreement on whether there is anything we can do to fix the damage already done, should we if we can, and what happens if we don't?)

Besides, Ember earns her carbon credits by warming up the bed for me so I can keep the heat lower at night. :biggrin: Admittedly, dogs are better about promoting energy conservation than cats, because they'll actually sleep on top of you all night.
 
  • #4
My dog is worth her carbon footprint.

But, I guess a http://www.savetoby.com/recipes/5.php could be worthwhile. (By the way, it would be ironic if people boycotted the company that prolonged Toby's impact on the environment.)
 
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  • #5
I have a tiny dog and he eats a lot of fruits and vegetables and whatever I don't eat that would just go into the trash, he eats, so I'd say he's eco-friendly.
 
  • #6
Evo said:
This makes me wonder how much just the overpopulation of humans contributes to "global warming". Has anyone ever done the calculations? I've heard that 2 billion humans is the ideal global population and we are currently at 6,791,500,000.

I just got done reading the book Ishmael and now agree :(
 
  • #7
I've got an 8oz Cockatiel. I wonder what her carbon footprint is? I can't think is is too big a 3lb bag of food made here in the USA lasts her about 3 months. Also during the summer when my garden is producing she gets greens, and veggies from it. However if her footprint is larger then a SUV well I don't care she is worth it.
 
  • #8
Argentum Vulpes said:
I've got an 8oz Cockatiel. I wonder what her carbon footprint is? I can't think is is too big a 3lb bag of food made here in the USA lasts her about 3 months. Also during the summer when my garden is producing she gets greens, and veggies from it. However if her footprint is larger then a SUV well I don't care she is worth it.
I wonder if she is equal to a hamster foot print?
 
  • #10
I seem to remember that dog and cat food are made mostly from animal by-products, i.e. the parts that people don't ordinarily eat, and so their food doesn't really add as much as claimed.

Lets say an SUV uses 20 gal/wk for 50 weeks/year. With 6 lbs/gal, that SUV would consume 6000 lbs (2724 kg) or 3 T of gasoline, and then there are tires and oil.

Our little dog probably eats 1/4 of meat/cereal each day, or about 91 lbs per year. We also have two cats that eat about 1/4 each of meat/fish per day.
 
  • #11
Proton Soup said:
hope your thread on this doesn't get locked. :confused:

https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=348088
As long as this doesn't turn to cannibalism, eating your pets and vegan wars. That was a train wreck. Instead of deleting the entire thread, I left the few posts made before it started to derail.

And yes, if people start posting nonsense like that in this thread, the posts will get deleted.
 
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  • #12
Well, I hate to admit this but my dogs more then likely make up for everyones eco-friendly pets on this forum. They eat copious amounts of food, and at least one of them produces as much methane as a entire herd of cows. I don't know which one, because they keep pointing to each other.
 
  • #13
Astronuc said:
I seem to remember that dog and cat food are made mostly from animal by-products, i.e. the parts that people don't ordinarily eat, and so their food doesn't really add as much as claimed.
Good point.


hypatia said:
...and at least one of them produces as much methane as a entire herd of cows. I don't know which one, because they keep pointing to each other.

:rofl: You know it's going to be bad when the dog gets up and leaves the room.
 
  • #14
hypatia said:
Well, I hate to admit this but my dogs more then likely make up for everyones eco-friendly pets on this forum. They eat copious amounts of food, and at least one of them produces as much methane as a entire herd of cows. I don't know which one, because they keep pointing to each other.
I have only one dog, so I pretty much know who's producing the methane. His system is frightfully efficient at producing gas, even though he gets high-quality dry food. If I could weaponize his output in aerosol cans, riot police could use it for crowd control.
 
  • #15
What I don't get is where they say to keep your cat locked up at night so they don't eat their fill of rodents, etc... wouldn't it make sense for them to fill up on these things? Not too many birds milling around on the ground at night last time I looked.
 
  • #16
Do chia pets count?
 
  • #17
Evo said:
What I don't get is where they say to keep your cat locked up at night so they don't eat their fill of rodents, etc... wouldn't it make sense for them to fill up on these things? Not too many birds milling around on the ground at night last time I looked.

cats can climb, and mine seem to catch mostly chipmunks and an occasional mole-looking thing. but the point is that they are nocturnal and don't expend nearly as much activity hunting in the daytime.

personally, I'm happy to see them catch things. it's environmental pest control as far as I'm concerned. i just wish they could catch possums and squirrels.
 
  • #18
Evo said:
What I don't get is where they say to keep your cat locked up at night so they don't eat their fill of rodents, etc... wouldn't it make sense for them to fill up on these things? Not too many birds milling around on the ground at night last time I looked.

Not if you don't want to be treating them for worms all the time. Hunting mice is how cats pick up most of their parasites.
 
  • #19
turbo-1 said:
If I could weaponize his output in aerosol cans, riot police could use it for crowd control.

It's not the heat, it's the humidity. It's not the temperature, it's the wind chill factor. It's not the methane, it's the H2S.
 
  • #20
zoobyshoe said:
It's not the heat, it's the humidity. It's not the temperature, it's the wind chill factor. It's not the methane, it's the H2S.
He seems capable of producing not only sulfides, but mercaptans, and other even more odiferous cousins. He is scary-good at it.
 
  • #21
Evo said:
I wonder if she is equal to a hamster foot print?

If she is I wonder what size of plasma TV her carbon footprint is? Are we talking about a huge 150" screen or a small 32" one. Also during the winter it gets cold up here in MT so a power hogging heat pumping TV can be an advantage. I wouldn't have to run my heater at as high of a setting if I was going to be watching a movie or playing a video game. I know my bird dose not heat my apartment like that during the winter.
 
  • #22
Proton Soup said:
personally, I'm happy to see them catch things. it's environmental pest control as far as I'm concerned. i just wish they could catch possums and squirrels.

Get a bigger cat!
http://pixie-bob.info/IMAGES/images_pt_format/lynxinwinter.jpg
 
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  • #23
Face it guys and gals...

dog owner = eco terrorist

QED

Al Gore is coming for your puppies.
 
  • #24
Chi Meson said:
Get a bigger cat!
http://pixie-bob.info/IMAGES/images_pt_format/lynxinwinter.jpg
[/URL]

we do have those here, but they seem to be slacking on the possum control. i think more end up as road pizza.
 
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  • #25
Proton Soup said:
we do have those here, but they seem to be slacking on the possum control. i think more end up as road pizza.
We may have more bobcats here, soon. Too many of the endangered lynx are being caught in traps set for bobcats and the state is considering a ban on cat-trapping for that reason. In many areas of the state (including here) the most effective predators of small-to medium prey are fishers, and the main predators of deer are coyotes.
 
  • #26
There are coyotes here in Washington, D.C.!
 
  • #27
My cat's carbon paw print? Well, hrm. That's difficult to say. As someone I live with, she uses far less resources than any human I've been around and keeps me far happier. She consumes the horrible stuff that is left over when humans get through with the chicken. Although there's the canning process and shipping to consider. Then there are her meds, which, I have no clue what the environmental impact is of creating those two pills a day for her. However, it's medication that's already produced for humans, and she's consuming a very small dose, and no one's going to stop producing this stuff for humans, so, I think that's a fairly minor contribution to carbon output.

Plus, she's the best kitty ever on the face of the planet, so that's got to be a carbon offset somehow.
 
  • #28
Just off, this sounds like over the top rubbish by the hysterical fear mongers. I burn 10 gallons of gasoline a week. This is 10*100K BTU a week.

If Fifi is on a high calorie diet she's a heard of pigs. Does Fifi consume 2,500,000 Dietary calories a week 10M BTU)? It be fair, don't forget to include the 'carbon footprint' of Fifi's Pet Smart toys, trips to the vet, and Fifi's parshare in your common dwelling and resources :p

To put things into perspective, one website tells me I need 2500 Dietary calories a day.
 
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  • #29
Anyone care to comment on the psychology of idiots and fear mongering? I really want to know.
 
  • #30
Phrak said:
Anyone care to comment on the psychology of idiots and fear mongering? I really want to know.
The ones promoting fear or the ones fearing? Or how about the ones promoting or believing conspiracy theories?

Having a critical mind seems to be becoming a terrible burden.
 

1. What is a pet's carbon footprint?

A pet's carbon footprint refers to the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that are emitted as a result of owning and caring for a pet. This includes factors such as the production of pet food, transportation of pet products, and waste disposal.

2. Do all pets have a carbon footprint?

Yes, all pets have a carbon footprint, although the size of their footprint may vary depending on their species, size, and lifestyle. For example, a large dog will have a larger carbon footprint than a small hamster.

3. How does owning a pet contribute to carbon emissions?

Owning a pet contributes to carbon emissions in several ways. The production of pet food requires energy and resources, which leads to carbon emissions. Additionally, the transportation of pet products and waste disposal also contribute to a pet's carbon footprint.

4. Can I reduce my pet's carbon footprint?

Yes, there are several ways to reduce your pet's carbon footprint. You can choose environmentally friendly pet products, such as biodegradable waste bags and sustainable pet food. You can also reduce your pet's food and water waste by measuring out appropriate portions and using a reusable water bowl.

5. How can I calculate my pet's carbon footprint?

There are online calculators available that can help you estimate your pet's carbon footprint based on factors such as their species, size, and lifestyle. However, keep in mind that these calculations may not be exact and should be used as a general guide.

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