Carbon paw print

A new public service carbon footprint calculating website has been launched. It looks pretty good (except, if you're using a Mac, it is one of those really annoying sites that changes the size of your browser to fill your desktop), is easy to navigate and should hopefully attract many people to find out their footprints. Calculate your footprint here. The site also offers some good (and some misleading) advice while missing some very important points. Political hot potatoes even.

So how did Dubdog mansions fair? Pretty good actually. Just below average although we did claim to have double glazing throughout when only half the kennel windows have been changed (good locally made wooden windows are expensive so it's an ongoing project). I have a feeling Dubdog's carbon paw print would have been lower if some obvious questions had been asked. The site DOES NOT cover recycling at all!!!! We recycle pretty much everything that is recyclable, including food waste going on the compost heap instead of in a landfill site. The emission of toxic gasses from landfill sites have been linked to birth defects for anyone unfortunate enough to live within 2kms of a site (which actually is 80% of us)!
The site also tries to convince Dubdog that it needs a dishwasher because one fully loaded dishwasher is more water efficient than lots of bowls of hot water. Fine, if only it would take into account how much water a bath wastes which it doesn't mention at all! And it's not just about heating the water, it's also about the energy hungry process of cleaning water.
But, and it's a big BUT, the biggest bug bear I have is the complete lack of questioning dietary habits. Firstly, nothing about food miles or organic food production. Secondly it doesn't even scratch the vegetarian itch. The amount of methane cows fart into the atmosphere is adding to climate change dramatically. Not to mention the harmful process of meat production when you take into account the agro-chemicals that go into producing grain for cattle to eat. Worse even when you consider that "...only a small fraction of the calories consumed by farmed animals are actually converted into the meat that people eat..." (source) which means why bother eating meat in the first place, eat what the cows eat, it's more efficient.
Looks like Dubdog's 20 years of being a vegetarian counts for nothing. Ho hum. Hotdog anyone?