Bob McCarty Writes

When can a Christmas gift be something extra special to a conservative and more like a lump of coal to a liberal?  When it comes in the form of a book, “TIME TO EAT THE DOG? the real guide to sustainable living,” by Brenda and Robert Vale.

Though I have yet to receive a book from the New Zealand authors, the simple fact that it’s been published makes me feel, for starters, as if I’ve received a gift of candy and nuts.   As a side benefit, I’m tickled by the fact that PETA officials must already be planning a book-burning party in protest of this book’s publication.

The title of the book, according to a news report about it, stems from the fact that the land required to generate enough food to feed a medium-sized dog generates a larger carbon footprint in a year than your typical sport-utility vehicle when driven 6,200 miles.

FYI: The article also notes that cats are said to generate “slightly less (carbon) than driving a Volkswagen Golf for a year while two hamsters equates to a plasma television and even the humble goldfish burns energy equivalent to two mobile telephones.”

As best I can determine, the book is not yet available in the United States but can be purchased via Amazon in the UK.  Once it becomes available here, however, you can bet I’ll pick up a copy.