Dog lovers damage the planet

Discussion in 'Environment & Conservation' started by Robert Urbanek, Aug 17, 2019.

  1. Robert Urbanek

    Robert Urbanek Active Member

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    The average-sized dog consumes about 360 pounds of meat a year and its impact on the environment is double that of a typical SUV. “Owning a dog really is quite an extravagance, mainly because of the carbon footprint of meat,” says John Barrett of the Stockholm Environment Institute.

    Source: http://www.salon.com/2014/11/20/the_surprisingly_large_carbon_paw_print_of_your_beloved_pet_partner/

    Cats are not much better. If you really care about the planet, do not acquire a meat-eating pet. Otherwise, stop complaining about Trump being bad for the Earth.

    The argument that cats and dogs mainly eat the remains of animals not consumed by humans also falls short as those remains can be recycled into other products.

    Any meat or animal product that cannot be sold or consumed by humans can be recycled at our plant into new materials and given a second life. – MOPAC Meat Product Recycling

    And, of course, if humans eat less meat to preserve the environment, there will be less remnants for pets to consume anyway.
     
  2. VotreAltesse

    VotreAltesse Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I never tested, but I heard that you can make a dog vegetarian without health troubles for the dog. Dogs ended to be quite omnivore, and with some eggs, you may give your dog everything he need to be healthy. Furthermore, if he has some mouses to hunt, he can add meat to the menu.
    Cats can't otherwise, they're pure carnivore.
     
  3. AFM

    AFM Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    How many degrees Centigrade does the dog and cat global population add to the rate of global warming ???

    Come’on man, that’s ridiculous.
     
  4. xwsmithx

    xwsmithx Well-Known Member

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    Silly. More interesting is the ecological damage of cats, which I read about in National Wildlife. One scientist estimated that outdoor cats consume 4 billion birds a year. Another estimated that 26% of all species humans have driven extinct were the result of domestic cat predation. The author's suggestion was not the elimination of cats, however, it was to bring all cats indoors permanently.

    While some articles suggest that yes, dogs can live on a vegetarian diet, the more professional ones seem to be more cautious, suggesting that while some dogs can take it, others can't. Puppies, definitely not. Personally, I wouldn't inflict a vegetarian diet on a dog as I would consider it cruel.
     
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  5. roorooroo

    roorooroo Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    And if anyone uses air conditioning to heat or cool their home, same deal.
    And if anyone uses the internet, same deal.
    How about the movie and tv entertainment industry? Unnecessary, and highly damaging to the earth.
    CNN and mainstream media? Burning up the earth every second of the day.
    Sports at any level... ridiculous - totally unnecessary and destroying the earth.
    Video games? Cell phones? Processed foods? For shame.
    Can you imagine the destruction caused to the environment by home building? Come on man, we should all be living in tents or caves which would greatly slow the devastation.
    Owning more than one pair of shoes? Get outa here!
    People traveling for vacations? Disneyworld?
     
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  6. AFM

    AFM Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    What species have house cats caused to go extinct ???
     
  7. AFM

    AFM Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    The Draconian meaning behind all these arguments is that human beings damage the planet .........
     
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  8. Moonglow

    Moonglow Well-Known Member

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    Microplastics from humans are showing up in water samples and snow samples in mountain ranges, seabeds and the Antarctic. But let's worry about dogs. Derpa
     
    Last edited: Aug 17, 2019
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  9. roorooroo

    roorooroo Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Of course, the underlying point of my post was that I dismiss those who rant and rave about AGW unless they have omitted all those items and activities from their lives, or at least have cut back greatly.
     
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  10. Robert Urbanek

    Robert Urbanek Active Member

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    We can draw distinctions between what are essentials, what are luxuries and what is wretched excess. In the latter category I would put auto racing and any new car getting less than 20 mpg in the city. The attitude of "I want it all and I want it now" is not compatible with the health of the planet.
     
  11. FatBack

    FatBack Well-Known Member

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    upload_2019-8-17_22-1-17.jpeg
    Feral cats are one of the major invasive species in Australiaand have been linked to the decline and extinction of various native animals. They have been shown to cause a significantimpact on ground nesting birds and small native mammals.
    Cats in Australia - Wikipedia

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cats_in_Australia
     
  12. Robert Urbanek

    Robert Urbanek Active Member

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    We can worry about plastics and pets at the same time.
     
  13. roorooroo

    roorooroo Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Agreed.

    Sports at any level? Why or why not?

    The entertainment industry?

    Heating a home in winter? Why use electricity or burn fuel when a blanket will work?

    Would you be so kind as to give us your view of what is necessary and what is excess?
     
    Last edited: Aug 17, 2019
  14. xwsmithx

    xwsmithx Well-Known Member

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    Well, I tracked down the original study, https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2016/09/13/1602480113, but it does not list individual extinct species. It says 63 species have been wiped out by cats, 75 by rodents. Currently under threat by domestic cats are another 430 species.


    [​IMG]

    "Numbers of threatened and extinct bird (B), mammal (M), and reptile (R) species negatively affected by invasive mammalian predators. Gray bars are the total number of extinct and threatened species, and red bars are extinct species (including those classed as extinct in the wild). Predators affecting <15 species are not shown here. Predators (L to R) are the cat, rodents, dog, pig, small Indian mongoose, red fox, and stoat."
     
  15. AFM

    AFM Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    And just who makes those decisions for each individual ??? You need a very strong leader to make and enforce these policies. What could go wrong ????
     
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  16. AFM

    AFM Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Of course it doesn’t name any species. Because there aren’t any.
     
  17. AFM

    AFM Well-Known Member Past Donor

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  18. Moonglow

    Moonglow Well-Known Member

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    Dog food in the US is made from left over parts of animals slaughtered for human consumption.
     
  19. FatBack

    FatBack Well-Known Member

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    HAVE BEEN LINKED----
    Do you know much about ecology? When feral cat populations expand, the ecology suffers. I suppose only witnessing a cat killing the last documented species, would suffice, for you?

    They wreak havoc on prey animal populations.
     
  20. xwsmithx

    xwsmithx Well-Known Member

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    Fortunately for the rest of us, you aren't in charge.

    One race car team burns about 200,000 liters of fuel in a season. For comparison, a Boeing 747 uses 150,000 liters of fuel in ONE 10 hour flight.
     
  21. xwsmithx

    xwsmithx Well-Known Member

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    That's a rather extreme position, don't you think? Do you own any outdoor cats? I have owned plenty, and I couldn't possibly count the number of wild prey they have slaughtered. There's a small community in the middle of the Everglades that was there before the section they are in was designated a protected area, so they are grandfathered in. They are not allowed to own any outdoor cats because of the endangered species in the area.

    Lyall's wren or the Stephens Island wren (Traversia lyalli) was a small flightless passerine belonging to the family Acanthisittidae, the New Zealand wrens. It was once found throughout New Zealand, but when it came to the attention of scientists in 1894, its last refuge was Stephens Island in Cook Strait. Often claimed to be a species discovered and driven extinct by a single creature (a lighthouse keeper's cat named Tibbles), the wren in fact fell victim to the island's numerous feral cats.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyall's_wren
     
  22. AFM

    AFM Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Name one species that house cats have caused to go extinct ?? There are none.
     
  23. AFM

    AFM Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Cats on an island in the Cook Straight wiped out an entire species from New Zealand ?? You have nothing to back up your claim.
     
  24. AFM

    AFM Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Name one species. There is nothing in the link. Where do you think domesticated cats came from ??
     
  25. xwsmithx

    xwsmithx Well-Known Member

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    That one appears to be well-documented. I don't know what killed off the wrens from the other islands, but that was its last refuge, and cats made them extinct. You wanted one example, there it is. And I'm sure if you want to look, you can find other examples. Why do you have a problem with this? Rats, dogs, pigs, and even stoats have wiped out species.
     

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