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Commentary Robert Whitcomb Commentary Robert Whitcomb

How eco-friendly is your pet?

Tanner, the ecoRI News newshound.

-- Joanna Detz/ecoRI News

By DONNA DeFORBES, for ecoRI News

Pets are beneficial to our health and make wonderful family companions, but have you ever considered how they add to your carbon footprint? Can a pet be eco-friendly?

Dogs A controversial 2009 book claimed that owning a dog is twice as ecologically harmful as driving an SUV — the main reason being the large amount of land and energy given over to producing their meat-based food.

Research estimates that 1.7 miles of land is needed to cultivate 2.2 pounds of chicken — beef is higher, of course. That doesn’t sound too bad until you know that the average dog consumes about 360 pounds of meat annually, and that there are upwards of 83 million owned dogs in the United States.

Eco option: Feed your dog food comprised of chicken or rabbit, instead of beef or lamb, to reduce his dietary footprint. Or try a vegetarian dog food.

Then there’s the disposal of all that poop — about 274 pounds per dog per year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Unscooped poop contains nutrients that contaminate local waters and deplete the oxygen supply, which is vital to seagrass, fish and other marine creatures. There are up to 65 diseases including e. coli, roundworms, giardia and salmonella that can be transmitted through dog feces to other dogs, cats or people.

Dog poop, even when scooped and tossed in the trash, produces methane, a greenhouse gas stronger than carbon dioxide.

Eco option: The Natural Resources Conservation Service offers ideas on how to properly compost dog wasteso that it can be used later as a quality soil additive.

Cats The nation’s 95 million cats annually generate 2 million tons of litter. That litter is usually the non-biodegradable, clay-based kind that can only be produced by strip mining the earth.

Cat poop can be equally destructive, since cats are often the carrier of the parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, an organism that kills sea otters and other creatures when people wrongly flush cat poop down the toilet. T. gondii also affects humans, especially pregnant women and those with weakened immune systems.

Eco option: Choose an eco-friendly litter made from recycled newspaper, wood shavings, sawdust or corn cobs. Toss into the trash, not the toilet.

Cats also get a bad rap for their penchant for killing wildlife. According to one scientific report, U.S. domestic cats kill an average of 12.3 billion mammals and 2.4 billion birds annually. Feral and outdoor cats also urinate and poop in other people’s yards and gardens, potentially infecting the soil and children’s play areas.

Eco option: Protect your local ecosystem by keeping your cat indoors.

What you can do All is not lost for dog and cat lovers. You can reduce your pet’s footprint by buying eco-friendly pet supplies when possible. You can find beds, collars, leashes and toys made from organic fabrics or recycled materials. Choose biodegradable poop bags and eco-friendly litter, and opt for pet shampoos free of sodium lauryl sulfate, and flea and tick solutions that use essential oils.

Consider the rabbit If you’d love a pet, but are concerned about their eco footprint, there is one house pet that ranks pretty high on the scale of greenness: the bunny rabbit. Here’s why:

Since bunnies are vegetarians, eating a variety of greens and herbs, you can grow their food alongside yours in a lovely garden. They can also weed your lawn, as rabbits love dandelions.

Rather then contaminate the waterways, rabbit poop acts as the perfect garden fertilizer. You can dump it directly onto your flowers or mix it into your compost pile.

Shredded newspaper, hay or straw makes the perfect litter box filler, and you can toss all of it into the compost right along with the bunny poop.

A rabbit’s favorite toys are things you’d often toss or recycle — cardboard toilet paper tubes, boxes, wood scraps. Rabbits actually need to chew on such things to manage their continuously growing teeth.

If this information inspires you to adopt a house rabbit, get informed first. Bunnies tend to have a disposable reputation, but while their 8-10 year lifespan is not as long as cats' or dogs', it does require a long-term commitment.

Rhode Island resident Donna DeForbes is the founder of Eco-Mothering.com, a blog that explores ways to make going green fun and easy for the whole family. She is a contributor to Earth911, MammaBaby and author of the e-bookThe Guilt-Free Guide to Greening Your Holidays.

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Commentary Robert Whitcomb Commentary Robert Whitcomb

Donna DeForbes: Looking for the most eco-friendly X-Mass tree

By DONNA DeFORBES/ecoRI News contributor

We run this courtesy of ecoRI News

A Christmas tree is often the cornerstone of a family’s holiday season. There is much ado around getting it, rearranging furniture to provide it with ideal window placement, and decorating it while listening to a Dean Martin Christmas — or, maybe that’s just my family.

But does your little green heart ever wonder which kind of Christmas tree is most sustainable? Are real trees better than artificial ones because of their naturalness, or does the reusability of an artificial one make that the greener choice? Perhaps we should weigh the environmental pros and cons. This is what I grew up with, and it seems like a sustainable decorating option when the same tree is used year after year. However, the truth is that most artificial tree-users replace them about every five years with newer versions. According to a study from a Canadian environmental consulting firm, an artificial tree would have to be reused for at least 20 years to be more eco-friendly than buying a fresh-cut tree annually.

That is largely because artificial trees aren’t recyclable or biodegradable, they deplete resources and, with most being manufactured in Asia these days, transporting the trees leaves a large carbon footprint.

A bigger concern for families is that artificial trees can be toxic. They’re typically made with polyvinyl chloride (PVC), one of the most environmentally damaging forms of petroleum-derived plastic and a known carcinogen.

In addition, an artificial tree may shed lead-laced dust all over your children’s gifts, since lead is often used as a stabilizer for PVC. Not so very merry, is it?

There is some good news, however. If you’re set on acquiring an artificial tree, there is a newer technology where tree branches are being manufactured from polyethylene plastic (PE) instead of toxic PVC. And they look more realistic. Alicia Voorhies from The Soft Landing offers tips on where to find a holiday tree made from polyethylene.

If you get one of those PE trees and keep it for the next 20-plus years, you can feel pretty good about preserving both the planet and your family’s health. Not to mention saving quite a bit of money. Many people prefer the fresh scent and magic of a real Christmas tree, whether they buy a pre-cut one from a street lot or chop one down at a tree farm.

According to the National Christmas Tree Association, there are about 350 million Christmas trees growing on U.S. farms, with up to 30 million harvested annually. Natural trees are a recyclable and renewable resource, and a Christmas tree farm offers many benefits, including preserved green space, animal habitat and soil stability.

The downside is that only 1 percent of U.S. Christmas trees are grown organically — so that other 99 percent may have been grown using pesticides. Trees bought at corner lots and big-box stores are typically shipped here from out of state or Canada, and the sellers know little to nothing about the tree’s origins.

Buying your tree from a local farm offers several advantages: you’re supporting a local business; you’re reducing the environmental impact of long-distance transportation; and you can speak directly with the farmer to learn about the growing process.

For instance, my family discovered that Fraser Tree Farm in Coventry, R.I.,  uses organic practices, yet they aren’t classified as an organic farm since they’re not seeking certification. Search for other Rhode Island tree farms, and call ahead to ask questions.

Perhaps the best part about natural trees is they can be recycled after the holidays. Many cities and towns collect the trees curbside and turn them into mulch or compost. Rhode Islanders can find out about their municipalities’ Christmas tree recycling process here. Although not the most popular, a living tree, with roots and all, is certainly the most sustainable option.

Some things to consider when buying a living tree: choose a tree that looks bright and lively with a well-developed root ball, and choose a tree size that will work well in your yard. Pot it up with quality soil, and keep it well watered throughout the holidays. Dig the hole outside in the fall, and cover it with mulch to keep it from freezing over before you’re able to plant the tree.

Donna DeForbes is founder of Eco-Mothering.com, a blog that explores ways to make going green fun and easy for the whole family. She is a contributor to Earth911, MammaBaby and author of the e-book “The Guilt-Free Guide to Greening Your Holidays.”

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