Pets, parks, Internet - Known Ecological Hazards

[The Straight Story]

Threats to Earth: 7 Little-Known Ecological Hazards

Mobile Phones

Concrete

Biofuels

Batteries

Public Parks

While a green space in the center of a city may seem like a respite from an otherwise toxic urban area, new research shows that even parks may hurt the planet. Manicured public lawns require water, energy and fertilizers to maintain. A study of public parks in California found that they actually contribute to climate change, said Townsend-Small. Similarly, artificial turf parks made from old tires can leak heavy metals into the ground, Gaffin said.

The Internet

Behind every Google search or ESPN score update, computers use electricity that was generated somehow, often by the burning of fossil fuels. The Internet is a significant contributor to yearly carbon emissions. A controversial calculation by Harvard physicist Alex Wissner-Gross concluded that two Google searches puts as much carbon dioxide into the air as boiling a kettle of water for a cup of tea. Google disputed the work, but nobody argues that the Internet consumes massive amounts of energy. The global information technology industry generates about as much carbon dioxide all airlines combined, some 2 percent of global CO2 emissions, industry analyst Gartner has reported.

Pets

And perhaps most surprisingly of all, it seems that Rover and Fluffy have significant carbon pawprints of their own. In his 2009 book "Time to Eat the Dog? The Real Guide To Sustainable Living" (Thames & Hudson, 2009) author Robert Vale calculated that the production of the amount of meat consumed by a medium sized dog through commercial dog food contributes as much greenhouse gas to the atmosphere as a large car. On the upside, it's safe to say that pets do contain far fewer dangerous toxins than batteries, computers, or power plants.

more:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20100422/sc_livescience/threatstoearth7littleknownecologicalhazards

[virgogal]

1. Pets are also good for one's mental health. Saves healthcare.

[The Straight Story]

5. Unless, of course, your pet smokes

:rofl:

[PDJane]

2. They're wonderful for one's blood pressure, too.......

[lonestarnot]

3. Some members of the family also provide an invaluable service to

the blind, immobile, persons with epilepsy etc.

[arcadian]

4. Didn't mention anything about cats.

:D