i awoke this morning sleepy, after a week or more of seasonal gatherings, parties, dinners, festivities, music performances and overall holiday cheer. the sun was shining, teasing me out of bed as i felt the warm, december ocean breeze caress my face and welcome in the new day. i made some tea and decided to take my furry, four-legged friend on a walk down by the ocean. on my way out the door, i decided to read a few headlines before leaving the house. and this is the first thing i read this morning!!
man's best friend could be one of the environment's worst enemies, according to a new study which says the carbon "pawprint" of a pet dog is more than double that of a gas-guzzling sports utility vehicle...
my eyes, barely open from my sleepy haze, went from half mast to fully round in seconds...
dogs are the reason for the destruction of the environment???come on!!!
while the article does briefly mention the benefits of four-leggeds as being stress-relieving and anti-depressants for the elderly(one-sentence), i wonder...how is it that the carbon foot-print, of which they speak, is causing more harm than other mis-uses of the gifts of this planet. the article claims that dog food is causing the destruction of the rainforest...they go on to say:
Combine the land required to generate its food and a "medium" sized dog has an annual footprint of 0.84 hectares (2.07 acres) -- around twice the 0.41 hectares required by a 4x4 driving 10,000 kilometres (6,200 miles) a year, including energy to build the car.
i have a dog...and i happen to know that the meat that dogs eat is made of parts of the animals that humans do not consume!!
what about the industrial revolution? or war? or those of us living in countries that are out-gassing and contributing to the world wide state of environmental decay??
i grabbed my dog's leash, and went out for a beautiful morning walk...as i reached the beach, the wind blew my hair, my dog's tail wagging feverishly as we started our walk along the dramatic southern california coast. i always notice how sweetums brings joy to so many people passing by...including other furry four-legged's...and i wondered...how is it that dogs are being targeted for choices that have been made by humans all these years. i recalled, in the 80's, how cash crops/cattle, logging, over-population, tourism and mining were being targeted for the loss of the rain forest...go here for more details.
over-consumption and over-population, to name a few, on a global level, is what is depleting our resources, and instead of taking responsibility for our actions...we are blaming animals...such as cattle and now DOGS!!! for our own actions and extremism.
the article goes on to say...have an animal that serves as a dual purpose...utilitarian, such as a hen or a rabbit, where they can serve as food as well as a pet. i believe this article is ludicrous!! does everything we do on this planet need to be utilitarian? this argument would mean that we would need to, for example: wipe out the 100,000 caribou that wander the plains in the tundra in canada because all they are doing (tongue in cheek) is eating and belching CO2. when in reality, their survival, and their natural habitat, is being threatened by both oil companies... go here to see this incredible feature-length documentary,
is everything only beneficial if it is convenient for our survival??? when did convenience become our god? or has it been that convenience is the silent killer?
how is it that we have come to blame everyone and everything else for our actions? we created plastic and now the big plastic soup in the middle of the ocean, is our largest trash "ocean fill" because of all of our combined actions and lack of responsibility to clean up...now the ocean and its inhabitants are suffering. we create oil spills, and the animals and earth suffers, we create wars, and the animals and earth suffers, we colonize, we categorize, we alienate and we dominate, we violate and segregate, we disintegrate and depopulate...and then...we overpopulate and blame those who do not have a voice, the animals, the land, the poor, the weak, for our violent and uncontrolled actions...we rape the earth...and her bounty...then we blame her offspring for our actions!! this is infuriating!!
Human nature being what it is, it appears that many people prefer to blame others or situations when things go wrong – a sort of convenient scapegoating – instead of taking the blame on the chin just like real men and women do.
i know...it is the holiday season...it is a time of giving, loving, sharing and good cheer...and i am all for this, in fact, i participate in the joyous celebration with friends and loved ones...and, this morning, i could not help but see this article as a wake up call for me, and all of us who are able to recognize that while giving gifts is a beautiful tradition...it is also important to give the gift of our awakening...to the greater good, the collective...to take responsibilities of our actions, in our hearts, in our relationships, in our communities and in our work place...so that we are not contributing to the destruction of this planet, and its inhabitants, but that we, as a part of the whole, are giving the best of who we are, so that this planet grows, prospers in her natural state, and all beings benefit from the beauty of our awareness and love.
LOKAH SAMASTA SUKHINO BHAVANTU
May all beings everywhere be happy and free
and may the thoughts, words and actions of my own life
contribute in some way to that happiness
and to that freedom for all.
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