"I've been a vegetarian for over a decade. It's not because of my health, or because I dislike the taste of chicken or beef: It's a lifestyle choice I made because I wanted to reduce my impact on the planet. And yet, twice a day, every day, I lovingly scoop a cup of meat-based kibble into a bowl and set it down for my 50-pound rescue dog, a husky mix named Loki."
"The study, led by environmental psychology researcher Danielle Goldwert and published in the journal PNAS Nexus, examined how people perceive the climate impact of various behaviors-options like "adopt a vegan diet for at least one year," or "shift from fossil fuel car to renewable public transport." The team found that participants generally overestimated a number of low-impact actions like recycling and using efficient appliances, and they vastly underestimated the impact of other personal decisions, including the decision to "not purchase or adopt a dog.""
"The real objective of the study was to see whether certain types of climate information could help people commit to more effective actions. But mere hours after the AP published its article, its aim had been recast as something else entirely: an attack on people's furry family members. "Climate change is actually your fault because you have a dog," one Reddit user wrote."
A longtime vegetarian feeds meat-based kibble twice daily to a 50-pound rescue husky mix, creating a personal emissions paradox. A PNAS Nexus study led by Danielle Goldwert measured how people estimate climate impacts of various behaviors and found overestimation of low-impact actions (recycling, efficient appliances) and underestimation of higher-impact choices, notably pet ownership. Associated Press coverage of the study prompted swift online backlash accusing researchers of blaming pet owners, with commenters ridiculing the idea and defending small dogs. The study's stated goal was to test messaging that might steer people toward more effective climate actions rather than to shame individuals.
Read at WIRED
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]