Manage Your Pet’s Carbon Footprint

Posted by Guest Contributor on Jun 18, 2010 in Family, Pets | 0 comments

In the last ten years or so, most people have become more aware of the issues that affect our environment, as well as how we each affect the environment with our carbon footprint.  A carbon footprint is the amount of greenhouse gas emissions that an individual causes whether directly or indirectly. In recent times, many people have risen to the challenge and have taken heroic measures to reduce their own carbon footprints.  However, what few people have taken into consideration is how much the carbon emissions caused by their pets affect the environment.

Dogs and cats are living, breathing creatures, and they do leave a carbon “paw print” just as we leave a carbon footprint.  As they are just animals though, it is up to pet owners and not pets themselves to see to it that their carbon paw prints are limited.  Almost every decision a pet owner can make regarding his or her dog or cat has an impact on the pet’s carbon paw print.  Collectively, several bad choices could have quite a negative impact, but smart and eco-friendly choices on the other hand can have very positive effects as well.

An effective way to manage your pet’s carbon paw print is to construct a pet waste composter.  Most pet owners simply scoop up their pets’ waste, put it in a plastic bag, tie it off, and throw it away.  Such practices can lead to a contaminated water supply, and even cause epidemics among wildlife.  With a composter, pet waste is stored underground, and decomposed, this improves the soil greatly.  It is also a far less wasteful practice than simply wrapping it in plastic and tossing it.

If you live in a high-rise or a condo where you have either a small garden or no garden at all, building a composter may not be possible.  If you must use bags to dispose of your pet’s waste, buy only 100% biodegradable bags, made from GMO free corn.  Stay away from any bags that contain any trace of polyethylene, as this chemical is not good for the environment.

Your pet’s diet also has an impact on his or her carbon paw print.  A lot of dog and cat food goes through a lot of processing and contains a lot of chemicals.  You should insist on only organic pet food.  Organic pet food will mean toxin free waste.  Apart from the positive environmental impact of organic pet food, your dog or cat will also enjoy better health.   Dogs can actually be trained to subsist on a vegetarian diet with some patience.  From an ecological standpoint, this is actually the ideal situation, if you have the patience and the commitment to do it.

Every purchase you make for your pet can affect the size of his or her paw print.  Choose wisely when buying things like toys, cages, and other accessories.  When possible don’t buy products from China.  It is true that as China has emerged as the world’s factory, goods from there are cheaper.  The downside is that goods from China need to come a long way, and the freighting consumes a lot of energy.  Factories in China are not designed to be eco-friendly and produce the highest emissions in the world.  So while they may be cheaper, save buying of Chinese manufactured products to those in Asia.

Victoria Knight works with the Pet-Super-Store, the dog bed store, to promote an all-natural way of living to animals and pet owners.