Scientists tally the environmental impact of feeding meat to our cats and dogs. Its huge. Credit Nol Zia Lee, Wikimedia Commons. Youve heard about the carbon footprint, but what about the carbon paw printAccording to a new study, U. S. cats and dogs eating patterns have as big an effect as driving 1. The findings, published in the journal PLOS ONE, reveals how our furry, four legged companions consumption of meat and other animal products adds a sizable, and largely overlooked, climate cost. When it comes to environmental effects, meat eating takes the cake. A 2. 01. 4 study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that producing a kilogram of chicken results in about 3. The same amount of beef, however, can be responsible for up to 1,0. Tally 5.4' title='Tally 5.4' />CO2 a worrisome figure given that this greenhouse gas is largely responsible for the significant warming of the Earths climate. Thats not even counting the livestocks water usage footprint, which dwarfs that of agricultural crops. Its a growing concern given that developed countries such as the U. S. consume lots of animal protein, and that developing countries that are economically on the rise seem to be increasing their share of meat consumption too. But one sleepless night about five years ago, UCLA geographer Gregory Orkin realized something Those environmental assessments rarely if ever took into account the consumption by dogs and cats. The thought gave him pause perhaps even paws. Because I couldnt sleep, I got up and just kind of started throwing some numbers together, he said. AMERICAN HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION UNCOMPENSATED HOSPITAL CARE COST FACT SHEET Since 2000, hospitals of all types have provided more than 538 billion in. During this Olympics the US team won its 1000th gold medal and also topped with a total medals of 121. JAkg8_Trauer-Schmerz-Leid-IMG_5120-Schwarz-Peo.jpg' alt='Tally 5.4' title='Tally 5.4' />Its evolved a lot since then. He calculated the likely number of calories needed by the United States pet dogs and cats, who number around 1. The results Cats and dogs overall caloric consumption was about 1. U. S. Just to put that in context, thats about the same amount of calories that the country of France consumes and so that whet my appetite a little bit, Orkin said. Notably, dogs and cats actually consumed about 3. Orkin said. On the other end, they also produce about 3. In short, Orkin concluded, American dogs and cats eat enough animal product to account for about 6. Thats about the same impact on our warming climate as driving 1. Americans are the largest pet owners in the world, but the tradition of pet ownership in the U. S. has considerable costs, Orkin wrote in the paper. As pet ownership increases in some developing countries, especially China, and trends continue in pet food toward higher content and quality of meat, globally, pet ownership will compound the environmental impacts of human dietary choices. Orkin stressed that he wasnt advocating giving up beloved furry friends far from it. But for people who want to be aware of their environmental impact so that they can try to reduce it, its probably worth knowing the full effect of their household, canines and felines included. Theres also a movement toward putting more meat in pet foods, perhaps driven by what Orkin called the humanization of pet products. Tally 5.4' title='Tally 5.4' />But dogs arent pure carnivores. Theyre omnivorous, having developed the ability to readily digest starches possibly from the trash heaps that accumulated around ancient human encampments. So dogs, at least, could potentially get even more of their required protein from non animal sources than pet owners may commonly think. I certainly hope these kinds of numbers will encourage the market to consider adding those as market choices, and I also think that individuals can make choices, Orkin said. Explore further The truth about cats and dogs environmental impact. More information. Gregory S. Okin et al. Environmental impacts of food consumption by dogs and cats, PLOS ONE 2. DOI 1. 0. 1. 37. Journal reference Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. PLo. S ONE. 2. 01. Los Angeles Times. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. BRC Deal Tracker The Business Renewables Center actively tracks new corporate renewable energy contracts as they are are announced. The chart below shows our analysis. Cities considered to have significant ChineseAmerican populations are large U. S. cities or municipalities with a critical mass of at least 1 of the total urban. Copyright CWIF 2017 Page 1 of 6 Summary of Wind Turbine Accident data to 30 September 2017 These accident statistics are copyright Caithness Windfarm Information. Macromedia Flash Mx 6 Full Version.