Dogs Are Bad For Global Warming
Here’s one you need to see, a new book on sustainable living claims dogs are as bad for global warming as SUV’s.
A medium-sized dog is compared to a 4.1 (1 turbo- diesel) Land Cruiser as having the same impact on the environment.
Here are the details from the Metro.co.uk.
By the authors’ estimates, Rover wolfs down approximately 164kg of meat and 95 kg of cereal products per annum.
The land required to produce that food is 0.84 hectares (ha) (or 1.1 for a large dog), while building and driving the jeep for a year requires just 0.41 hectares of land.
Robert Vales, the author of Time to Eat the Dog: The Real Guide to Sustainable Living, suggests keeping smaller pets that leave less of an eco-footprint. More sustainable pets such as goldfish, hamsters, chickens or rabbits. Have you ever tried taking a hamster or rabbit to the dog park?
Well, I’m going to disagree with Mr. Vales on this one. Our pups might leave a bit of an eco-footprint on the environment, but they leave much bigger footprints on my heart. So don’t expect any changes at the Hoefinger household any time soon.
* In loving memory of Lexi. Even though she was gone too soon, you know from the picture her ‘footprint’ will always be around.
I wonder how big a footprint Mr. Vales is leavin….bet he eats a lot more than I do an takes up a LOT more space.
Perhaps he’d make good use as dog food…..nah….I’m way too fussy, snort, snort.
Hmmmm, I think that this was presented as a rather one sided view by someone who doesn’t actually likes dogs and wants to justify their ownership of a Toyota Landcruiser to the Sustainable Living fraternity.
I can just hear the talk in Mr Vale’s office upon publishing his book – “OK guys, you’ve been nagging me about my Toyota Landcruiser for years now, well guess what………”
I doubt that in his report Mr Vales would have presented the factual evidence that us dogs and dog ownership have huge economic and health benefits to the community as whole that would far outweigh the eco-footprint we leave on the environment.
Well said, Horst!
No comment… but that will definitely not be a book that I will be adding to my library :/
I am not even reading this bs… I mean common… a dog, or any kind of animal to be compared to a car it is just simply INSANE
Well I can GUARANTEE that my SKIN brother let’s off WAY more toxic greenhouse gasses than Caroline or I ever will…. ::o BOL!!!!:)):))
There is simply no logic to this claim, by that I mean, in a years time my dogs and cats will require food, water, myself, and my vet to care for them. The truck however required thousands of people to manufacture then there is all the gas and oil used and manufactured, simply put the logic is very flawed.
Well the answer is to get a dog, sell the car, and walk everywhere together!
For one, I’ve heard from MANY not just a few reliable sources that Global Warming is just a scam to get money for the government. I’m not worried about it and if it comes to it Mr. Vales, you’ll have to get through ME to get MY dog!
And the Global Warming Paranoia expands.
First they came for the transfats, and I did not speak out—because I didn’t eat them;
Then they came for the SUV’s, and I did not speak out—because I drive a small fuel efficient car;
Then they came for the soda pop, and I did not speak out—because I never drink the stuff;
Then they came for my dog and I bleeping kicked them in the bleeping bleeps.
Obviously this is in response to the Republican politician who suggested a tax break for pet owners !
I saw that. Love it. Taxes are out of control.
I agree with Birdy.
The book that was published on this subject should never have been produced…it contibutes to toxic waste!
I’m with Mr. Hoefinger cuz our mom says us furs leave much bigger footprints on her heart. She’s lost too many of us lately and same goes in our house….don’t expect any changes in our household!!!!! We rule!
ConDOGulations on our furiend Lexi for being featured in the photo here. She’s a special furiend loved by all.
Pawsonally, maybe those that think there should be less children, less dogs, less people, should gather up a bunch of SUVs and drive themselves off a cliff.
Ok… let’s remember one thing here… Garbage in, garbage out. A high quality protein based food generates FAR less poop. Something with alot of grains and corn generates more poop (and less nutrition). Ol’ Roy generates 84 lbs of poop per 100 lbs ingested (Mom used to manage a Petco–hence the geeky knowledge).
I was reading to see if there was going to be a “Gotcha” line!! Unbelievable!! What a Gorgeous picture of Sweet Little Lexi!!
Oh Jeez. What a nut. Better get rid of the big-a.. SUVs and lets keep our dogs.
Our pups footprints are worth more than some folks I know !!
I think whoever wrote that book is a big poopie head ! Dog’s and cat’s are wonderful. I agree the book is toxic waste !
I think this is bull… It especially disses big dogs and pretty much all dogs. Mom doesn’t even really believe in global warming so…yeah. This author is probably some creep that wants money or publicity. I agree that the book should be RECYCLED. :]
Yeesh!!! I don’t know about you guys but I can’t think of a better way to spend a cold winter evening…. curled up on the couch with a good book and my pet CHICKEN hahahaha BOL oh and what about a goldfish (you could name him Rover or Fluffy). This guy is absolutely mental
Really? REALLY?! So now dog owners are under fire for ecological degredation? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. I can’t believe he suggests goldfish – they use up precious, precious water! And what about cats? Geesh.
This is a nonsensical argument. If we would follow this reasoning, we would quickly see the problem is with humans, not other animals.
Humans urbanized the world (creating SUVs, buildings, cement, etc), and that is where the massive environmental degradation is. Animals like cats and dogs were living in nature, pooping and peeing at a reasonable, recyclable rate.
I’m really annoyed that this article has annoyed me.
According to global warming doomsayers, the end of the world is nigh.
There is a lot of proof around that it has always changed and that it has NEVER stayed the same.
Even when humans and dogs weren’t hanging around.
Let’s check out Mr Vales’ ecological footprint shall we.
Fist off, how many trees have been cut to make the paper to print his book? How much oil is used in the making of the ink and generating the power to run the presses for his book? Those books have to be delivered, that takes more oil to run the trucks. And if he wants to get so nit picky about things, the extra weight of his books cause the trucks to use more fuel.
Now that the books have been delivered how many will end up in the trash and not recycled? Those will clog up the landfills and the toxins from the ink will leach into the ground water. You add this to the footprint he already has by just being alive and voila, Mr Vales has quite a huge ecological impact.
Now if some find this all a bit silly, it’s nowhere near as ridiculous as his book.
As for my footprint, I’d like to take the foot that makes it and kick Mr Vales up the wazoo for being such an insane twit.
Interesting.
This kind of puts Al Gore’s big lying hoax at bit more in persecutive for those of us who got sucked into the big lie. Isn’t Florida supposed to be under water now?
Goodness. Don’t let PETA and HSUS find out about this book. They already want to depopulate the earth of humans, make us all vegetarians, and make pet ownership illegal. Yep. They want to take Fido and Fluffy away.
It’s sure feels different demonizing the use of SUVs and big screen plasma Tvs because only the well to do have them … then it does when Joe Average gets Tread On!
This summer was an even cooler summer than last year, and we all didn’t even need air conditioning. If this is Global Warming I have only have two things to say …
Bring it on and pass the beans!!!!
BOL. Whatever it is that Mr. Vales has been eating should be recalled and ship back to China. Woof, woof…..
What is wrong with people? Humans do much more damage than dogs ever could. Has this author calculated what impact the fast food take out meals humans consume has on the environment? Or hairspray, people that dont recycle etc. I could go on all night long about things that have more of an impact than my two dogs, but I wont. this is just the ravings of a dog hating crazy person. So enough with people that dont realize that there is no such thing as a way back machine to undo all the damage, so all we can do is not make it any worse.
Global warming is a crock! If there is a global warming why is it colder here in Northern Canada then it ever has been in the last 30 years?
They are trying to call it “Climate Change” now because it’s colder in most places rther then warmer. They cant predict tommorows weather yet they have an exact date and aprox. time that the world will end? Give me a break! There is no global warming and this nonsense of dogs being bad for the environment now, lol, what a laugh.
Thank you Mollydog! My sentiments exactly so you saved me a whole lot of wasted energy typing. Here is someone who truly, deeply needs his head examined! I only hope the psychiatrist that examines him has his own therapist standing by because getting into Mr. Vales head might be a very scary place to be! Mr. Vale…give it a break!!! If anything started this global warming business it is us humans…why not lessen the carbon footprint by getting rid of all these convicted murders, rapists and child abusers that sit in jail and waste our precious resources and leave a huge carbon footprint on our environment? That would not only help with global warming, it would also free up a lot of used space, save on water, and save us a bunch of money because we pay big to house, cloth and feed these people who, by their own choice, have become a danger and a blight on society. Rethink things sir….it seems that perhaps you have never been blessed by the love of a good dog. For that, I pity you.
Yeah Mr.Vales is gonna need a SUPER DUPER POOPER SCOOPER to clean up the mess pooh he’s leaving behind with his book and theory, whaddya think?
MollyDog that’s too funny! Yet so true! You should send the wacko a copy and email him!!! Also the wacko company who published it! BOL
Horst is right you can’t compare the footprint that a dog leaves on your heart with anything else in this world..
Mr. Vale is a bit out of touch w/ reality- Global Warming has been proved time and again to be a hoax spread by Al Gore to make himself a Millionaire!
I will keep my 5 (or more dogs) and my SUV that carries us all around- if Mr. Vale does not like it he can go choke on a Granola Bar, or fall off his multi- speed bike!
Hey! If we are a lucky- he could be eaten by a Mountain Lion!!!
This is obviously a dog-hating jerk trying to make a buck spreading more hate in a world already swimming in it. I’ve got a statistic for you, Mr. Vales. Dogs are also a primary source of love, something this world is in desperate need of. A dog will never judge, condemn, or betray you . Even a mistreated or abused dog will love you with every last fiber of his being. A dog doesn’t care if you are beautiful or ugly, rich or poor, he will love you unconditionally forever. Can you make the same claim for yourself, sir? Perhaps you should be on someone’s dinner plate.
This crazy Vales man is trivializing the problem of global warming with his stupid theory about dogs contributing to it.
I like all the comments about dogs leaving footprints on people’s hearts.
I want to leave big footprints on Mr. Vales’ chest!
Then I want to drag him out to the highway and have him run over by an SUV.
But I’ll need big dogs to help me, because I’m only 13 pounds.
How many trees were killed to print this book?
Now, don’t get me wrong…I know global warming exists. If you think it doesn’t, then explain how fifty years ago here in NC there was snow all throughout the winter, and now it snowed only twice last winter. Twice! And there wasn’t even that much snow! Just because in some places it’s getting colder doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. In fact, my theory is that since the glaciers are melting, the air is getting colder in certain places because of the cold released. But blaming DOGS for global warming?! Dogs?! Where is the reason here?
Well said MollyDog!
Oh, and Fish? I think Fish are FINE, first off, but how can a person defend having FISH as pets and say no to dogs! What about the Filter and heater, run by electricity, of course, that have to RUN continuously? And Pawsonally we don’t have rodents, but they produce more Poop per pound than ANY Dog. The only sustainable Pet I suppose you could consider would be the rabbit because then you could turn it into a HAT! Sorry, kids, but Bunny Foo Foo finally got big enough to be your little sister’s hat! And we are having hassenpfeffer for dinner!
This whole “Green” thing is out of control. Yes to recycling. Yes to renewable energy. Yes to turning out the lights. But for Dog’s sake, when people start saying one should limit the number of Pets and Children they have because of their Carbon Footprint, then I think those People need to spend their mental energy thinking of REAL solutions to the problem.
Well, as much trouble as car companies are in, I hope it doesn’t come down to my car or my dog. Guess what I will definately give up?
Fact is global warming started over 300 yrs ago, and for the last 10 yrs the planet has been cooling. So this whole global warming thing give me a break. The earth heats up and cools off, dinosaurs didn’t drive cars, have fire places, smoke cigarettes, burn coal etc. So how do you explain that? I am tired of hearing about my Carbon foot print, health foot print, apparently there is a foot print for everything, phooey! Yes I believe in recycling, but that is to lessen the trash to keep it out our ocean’s so innocent animals stop dying from trying to live in their environment, that we so graciously have taken over-google trash island and tell me what you think then. I bet you didn’t know how much pollutants are put into the air just from recycling. So the fact that you would try to blame dogs for global warming is just ludicrous, since we are not in a warming, we are in a cooling. I challenge people to actually research it and not just listen to what the media tells you. I have done my research, and I believe the earth is going to run it’s natural course no matter what we do. I am not saying to not try to make a difference, because the little that you make helps your children and your childrens; children (along with their pets
Start with the chemicals that you use around your house that helps our water supply ten fold (you know the bleach you put in your toilet, substitute baking soda and you can also use vinegar)
Having one human child more than doubles your eco-footprint. I dare them to publish that statistic in their stupid book.
I don’t think dogs are being blamed for global warming, but any animal that eats meat is definitely part of the problem. Beef and other animals raised for food may not represent the entire problem, but there is far less need to be clearing large swathes of the Amazon—just for cattle to graze before they’re made into burgers and pet food—than most people think.
It is entirely possible for a dog to be vegan and happy and healthy. I realize in this meat-centric culture that most people would rather die than give up their chicken nuggets—and they anthropomorphize their pets into “wanting” beef and lamb more than carrots and plant-based foods—but most meat-based pet foods lose nutrients in processing, and need to have essential nutrients such as taurine added back into them anyway.
Remember: the longest-lived dog on record was a border collie (not a small breed) named Bramble, and she lived to be 29. Moreover, vegetarian dogs are less likely to get crippling, progressive diseases like arthritis.
So by feeding your dog as a vegetarian, you’re helping her, and helping the planet. Think about it.
Here’s an idea…
If you eat high quality food, it will apparently reduce your “eco-pawprint”. 95kg of cereal product? MY food has no corn, no wheat, no by-product, and the first 2 ingredients are CHICKEN (A a more “eco-friendly” pet!). So, I’m a medium sized dog, how much does that reduce this load of eco-BS?
This “green” stuff is making me sick. I’m all for renewable energy and sustainable resources and all that jazz. I’m even on board with having less kids. But that’s a completely different idea. Less kids means less people. And that means less useless idiots running around this planet, clogging up freeways and taking 15 minutes to order fast food in front of me in line. It’s more for quality of life than any environmental reasons. Dogs don’t do any of these things.
Dogs make our quality of life better. Idiots like this author make it worse.
Corky – the longest lived dog in documented history was an Australian Cattle Dog (blue heeler) named “Bluey” and he wasn’t a vegetarian. He was 29 and change. There was another dog that may have been older, an ACD/Lab mix that lived to 31. Either way, neither were small dogs. I personally don’t think that a primarily carnivorous (I know they’re omnivores, but canines are primarily carnivorous) animal should be deprived of meat. That’s just a personal opinion, I haven’t really done too much research into vegetarian diets for dogs. Meat is a great source of protein. Y deny it?
if it were not for my 18 dogs i would be hunting ppl.The crazy ones driving the suv,and get into an accident and i spend 2 hrs digging the remains out!!or when he goes driving in the woods and i have to get into my big4×4 and get my 2 big dogs to look for his carcaus,lost in the woods!! Ifeel i would do justice,by not letting my big boys,look for him!!he would be great hunting for a rifle,have gun will travel!!does anybody got his book I NEED SOME toilet paper!!He makes me need to go bad,to give him something more to shovel which i will gladly send him!!he needs to dig a big hole!!!and will need to fill it up behind him!!
Ok so if large dogs are so bad for the environment…then that means any large animal should be exterminated because they also increase global warming this would include elephants horses cows bears deer..etc etc etc…
So with that said the earth must have been really hot when T Rex and the other large dinosaurs roamed the earth…
and then things must have cooled drastically when millions of buffalo were slaughtered back a few hundred years ago…
Ok so I’m sounding ridiculous but so is thinking we should get rid of large dogs because of global warming
I have no doubt that canines leave as big a footprint as an SUV. However, I don’t care. Climate change is cyclic, not a result of anything that humans and our four-footed family members do or not do. We are over due for an ice age anyhow, and the current “global warming” trend is actually a step in that direction. Enjoy your canine family member and keep your SUV to help you haul his food and him around. I figure the more we pollute, the longer we will have a warm climate for ourselves… LOL!!!
This book does strike me as a pile of poo, but so does all the insistence here that global warming is a made up epidemic designed to make money for the government (?). Take politicians out of the mix completly and look at the scientific evidence. We are damaging this planet….us, not our dogs.
And how many human children has Mr. Vales brought into this world? I guarantee all of the dogs I have had do not have the sum total impact of one extra human, starts with all the diapers in the landfills, all the viruses they spread around, youth violence, the cost to taxpayers to educate them, etc.
I’m being sarcastic, of course.
I’ll keep my dogs & my V-8 truck that I want & need for transport, rescue & recreation–thanks.
We were wondering what Mr.Vale drives.
Everything that consumes has an environmental impact and yes people do exponentially worse damage to the environment and are the ones that introduce invasive species to destroy environments like cats in the Galapagos deseminating populations who did not evolve to defend themselves against those introduced feral colonies.
People are responsible for reducing waste in their families (including their pets). Their are more worthwhile targets like pet food companies. Some pet foods are even made from the meat of invasive species like Addiction’s Summer brushtail (but there is a shipping carbon footprint). Targeting pets is like targeting having children, it’s highly unpopular and not the root of the problem. It’s about lifestyle. A great and easy way to make a huge impact on the environment and help out people and pets with developed allergies is to convert yards with grassy lawns into native plantscapes. Even the tiniest yard planted with natives has been proven to help many native insects like butterflies, birds and other animals, not to mention the difference in water and gasoline usage.
Global warming,I live in upstate New York and with the cold summers and colder winters,I’m looking forward to some global warming and what do the working people care if some rich guys beach front property gets flooded.As far as Mr. Vales book,it makes me want to go out and get 3 or 4 more bloodhounds and a new SUV.
I love your post, Steve!! I’m right beside you
Actually – I love ALL these posts!!!!
This is envornmentalist wacko-ism run amuck!!! The author of this toxic waste of a book must have been bitten by a dog in his early youth or he smokes a lot of crack. Mommy says “Try to come after my dog and see what happens!!!!”
Tucker, with almost 70 days of over 100 degree weather this summer I don’t like all these posts.
Mags, I don’t like all these posts either, but I do like yours. It’s nice to know that there are some people who can reject dumb arguments without automatically assuming the polar opposite must therefore be right.
The Environmentalist fundamentalists have teamed up with the Animal rights fundamentalists, Global warming is a scam to tax people & these lies about “pets being bad for the Planet” is a scam that the Animal rights fundamentalists are using because they want to outlaw the keeping of pets period. These people are Zionists & Anti Christ. If they were so worried about the Planet then they would not be going around starting wars everywhere.