How green is your pet?
A new book translates the environmental impact of Americans’ beloved dogs, cats, and fish into cold hard numbers
He doesn't even know how big his environmental footprint is. Photo: Corbis SEE ALL 76 PHOTOS
Best Opinion: New Scientist, Wired
According to Time to Eat the Dog: The Real Guide to Sustainable Living, a new book on climate change, dogs do more damage to our planet than SUVs—not to mention the average Vietnamese or Ethiopian—when you look at their environmental footprint. Here are the numbers.
Amount of land (in square feet) needed to produce the annual food requirement for:
• Large dog: 118,500
• Medium sized dog: 90,600
• Average Vietnamese citizen: 81,890
• Average Ethiopian citizen: 72,310
• Cat: 16,100
• Hamster: 1,500
• Goldfish: 36
Sources: Time to Eat the Dog, via New Scientist, Wired
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