Eco-Nutjobs Declare War on Paper Bags and Pets

You were warned. You knew that once they defeated plastic, they were coming for paper.

In a city that has already banned plastic shopping sacks there is a new foe: paper bags.

San Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi on Tuesday introduced legislation intended to encourage customers to bring their own shopping bags so stores can reduce the number of bags doled out at check out.

The ordinance, if passed, would require retailers to offer a 10-cent rebate to customers who use reusable sacks.

If the stores fail to comply, they would face fines from $100 to $500.

But wait...There's more. The nutroots are suggesting we switch to pets we can eat.

The eco-pawprint of a pet dog is twice that of a 4.6-litre Land Cruiser driven 10,000 kilometres a year, researchers have found.

Victoria University professors Brenda and Robert Vale, architects who specialise in sustainable living, say pet owners should swap cats and dogs for creatures they can eat, such as chickens or rabbits, in their provocative new book Time to Eat the Dog: The real guide to sustainable living.

The couple have assessed the carbon emissions created by popular pets, taking into account the ingredients of pet food and the land needed to create them.

“If you have a German shepherd or similar-sized dog, for example, its impact every year is exactly the same as driving a large car around,” Brenda Vale said.

“A lot of people worry about having SUVs but they don’t worry about having Alsatians and what we are saying is, well, maybe you should be because the environmental impact … is comparable.”

I've tried this. You can throw all the sticks you want. That cow ain't fetching it.