[BlisteredWhippet]

Pets are a psychological replacement for the denatured lifestyles of the 21st century.$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A')lternatively, consider the cumulative environmental impact of our furry friends. The US, which tops the list for both cat and dog ownership in absolute terms, is home to over 76 million felines and 61 million canines. Taking the estimated cat population for the top 10 cat-owning countries, the Vales calculate that the land required just to feed these cats is over 400,000 square kilometres. That's equivalent to one-and-a-half times the area of New Zealand. A further five New Zealands are required to feed the pooches living in the top 10 dog-owning countries - which, perhaps surprisingly, does not include the UK.


Then there are the other environmental impacts of pets. Every year, for example, the UK's 7.7 million cats kill over 188 million wild animals (Mammal Review, vol 33, p 174). That works out at about 25 birds, mammals and frogs per cat. Similar figures have emerged from surveys in the US and Australia. There is also a knock-on effect because cats feasting on wildlife can leave wild predators such as hawks and weasels short of food.

[timmac]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('BlisteredWhippet', 'T')hat being said, I am here to convince no one particular that visiting this site is a waste of time and energy. To that end I ceased my involvement with it and reinvested my time and energy into things which I believe are more rewarding and practical uses for time, like basic education and fostering sustainable living relationships with people in real life. I would invite you to do the same even though I cannot recommend the choice for anyone who values happiness over knowledge. The two are unfortunately incompatible. To be happy is to be ignorant.

For example, the period of time between initiating a search for information and actually finding useful information on Peakoil.com. At least in the interim you might experience hope. But like a rat in the maze, satisfaction is fleeting.

So without further ado, I am reiterating my original argument, for its own sake, namely that: Pets are a reflection of our disembodiment from ecological reality.

I am way, way smarter than you. and that Pet owners are childish, stupid people.
Yours Truly,
Blisteredwhippet

[BlisteredWhippet]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('timmac', 'W')ell you won't be missed if you stop posting here, and your part about pet owners is shallow and a stupid remark as well, I will bet my golden retriever is much smarter than you any day of the year...

[dorlomin]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('BlisteredWhippet', 'P')ets are a psychological replacement for the denatured lifestyles of the 21st century.

[hillsidedigger]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '&')quot;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"

[mos6507]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('hillsidedigger', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '&')quot;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"

[BlisteredWhippet]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dorlomin', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('BlisteredWhippet', 'P')ets are a psychological replacement for the denatured lifestyles of the 21st century.

[mattduke]

Turn off that computer and save some coal, BW.

[Pops]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('BlisteredWhippet', 'T')o that end I ceased my involvement with [this site] and reinvested my time and energy ... But like a rat in the maze, satisfaction is fleeting...

[BlisteredWhippet]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Pops', 'A')nd here you are back where you started. Funny how often that happens.

[timmac]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('BlisteredWhippet', 'P')eople, I have found, do not change. They do not incorporate new information. They do not objectively evaluate the paradigms in which their behaviors form, or execute actions which imply an altruistic, sacrificial, or responsible motive. In almost all cases, humans are ignorant, stupid, and simple creatures without an inclination to rationality. Feel free to assume that you are an exceptional case.

[Jotapay]

I find this post to be ridiculous. Dogs were made to accomplish feats which humans could not. They are tools by extension. To suggest that we would be better off without them is anti-human, IMO.

[Jotapay]

This propaganda which has surfaced recently, which condemns pets, is just another way that environmentalism has been co-opted by TPTB to control our lives. They want to tax us for everything we do, including owning pets. That is why this has been thrust into the mainstream, corporate-controlled media now.

[Jotapay]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('BlisteredWhippet', 'N')ot often as I pointed out. Over the past year I visited very infrequently, usually while stoned, and found no net increase in value in any area whatsoever.

The problem with this site is that it has a very poor [valuable information] to [time spent] ratio. Its design is positively Soviet, diabolically designed to amplify the noise and decrease the signal.

If people actually believed the premises that they imply in their discourses, I doubt they would waste so much time. As such, I believe they do. As you are.

[mercurygirl]

To a human, everything is a tool.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I') used this premise in an experiment on this site several years ago to see if there was any way I could convince people on a relatively tangential subject in resource extraction to change their ways. I failed.

[mos6507]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('BlisteredWhippet', '
')...usually while stoned

[BlisteredWhippet]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Jotapay', 'I') find this post to be ridiculous. Dogs were made to accomplish feats which humans could not. They are tools by extension. To suggest that we would be better off without them is anti-human, IMO.

[Ludi]

Is having human babies better than having pets, I wonder?

I have too many pets* but no babies. Several of the pets have just shown up on the doorstep. I don't have the heart to kill them, I'm afraid. If someone put a baby on my doorstep I would probably want to keep it too.

*7 cats
1 dog
5 sheep (not so much pets as a tax dodge)
4 turkeys
8 chickens

But I'm pretty darn stupid and childish. Oh to be massively intelligent! How much less happy I would be!

[BlisteredWhippet]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mos6507', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('BlisteredWhippet', '
')...usually while stoned

[mos6507]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('BlisteredWhippet', '
')Anyone who doesn't get high is a damned fool.