最近，兩位新西蘭建筑師在他們新近出版的書中表示，貓和狗這兩種全世界最普遍的家養寵物每年所消耗的能源比一輛汽車還要多。這本書名為《是時候把狗給吃了：可持續生活指南》，作者在書中指出，養一只中型犬對生態環境帶來的影響跟一輛4.6升的陸地巡洋艦一年行駛1萬公里的影響是一樣的；而養一只貓需要耗費的生態面積平均為0.15公頃，僅次于一輛大眾高爾夫轎車所需的面積。為了減少貓狗寵物對生態的影響，讓寵物主人給貓狗吃素并不是什么良策。該書作者建議人們改養更加“綠色”一些的小型寵物，比如金魚、小雞、小兔子等。另外，他們還開玩笑地建議，在貓狗寵物死亡以后，主人可以把它們給吃了或者制作成寵物食品來喂養別的寵物，以實現寵物喂養的可循環性。

Dogs and cats, the world's most popular house pets, use up more energy resources in a year than driving a car, according to a new book.

They're faithful, friendly and furry - but under their harmless, fluffy exteriors, dogs and cats, the world's most popular house pets, use up more energy resources in a year than driving a car, according to a new book.

In their book Time to Eat the Dog: The Real Guide to Sustainable Living, New Zealand-based architects Robert and Brenda Vale say keeping a medium-sized dog has the same ecological impact as driving 10,000 km a year in a 4.6 liter Land Cruiser.

Calculating that the modern Fido chows through about 164 kg of meat and 95 kg of cereals a year, the Vales estimated the ecological footprint of cats and dogs, based on the amount of land needed to grow common brands of pet food.

"There are no recipes in the book," Robert Vale said, laughingly, in a telephone interview.

"We're not actually saying it is time to eat the dog. We're just saying that we need to think about and know the (ecological) impact of some of the things we do and that we take for granted."

Constructing and driving the jeep for a year requires 0.41 hectares of land, while growing and manufacturing a dog's food takes about 0.84 hectares - or 1.1 hectares in the case of a large dog such as a German shepherd.

Meat-eating swells the eco-footprint of canines, and felines are not that much better, the Vales found.

The average cat's eco-footprint, 0.15 hectares, weighs in at slightly less than a Volkswagen Golf.

By comparison, the ecological footprint of an average human in the developing world is 1.8 hectares, while people in the developed world take 6 hectares.

With pets' diets under the control of owners, how can their unsustainable appetites be trimmed?

Convincing carnivorous cats and dogs to go vegetarian for the sake of the planet is a non-starter, the Vales say.

Instead they recommend keeping "greener", smaller, and more sustainable pets, such as goldfish, chickens or rabbits.

The book's playful title, and serious suggestion that pet animals may be usefully "recycled", by being eaten by their owners or turned into petfood when they die, may not appeal to animal fans.

Offputting as the idea may be, the question is valid given the planet's growing population and finite resources, Robert Vale said.

"Issues about sustainability are increasingly becoming things that are going to require us to make choices which are as difficult as eating your dog. It's not just about changing your lightbulbs or taking a cloth bag to the supermarket," he said.

"It's about much more challenging and difficult issues," he added. "Once you see where (cats and dogs) fit in your overall balance of things - you might decide to have the cat but not also to have the two cars and the three bathrooms and be a meat eater yourself."

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(Agencies)

Vocabulary:

ecological footprint: 生態足跡，指為了維持一個人或國家的正常生活形態而對生態造成的影響

（英語點津  Helen 編輯）