Vegetarian Is the New Prius

"President Herbert Hoover promised "a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage." With warnings about global warming reaching feverish levels, many are having second thoughts about all those cars. It seems they should instead be worrying about the chickens."

We have discussed how meat production is a major contributor to global warming and water depletion; Kathy Freston at Alternet reviews the UN report on livestock and the environment (we covered it but I can't find it!) and finds that giving up meat is a lot more effective at saving the atmosphere then buying a Prius.

"Going veg provides more bang for your buck than driving a Prius. Plus, that bang comes a lot faster. The Prius cuts emissions of carbon dioxide, which spreads its warming effect slowly over a century. A big chunk of the problem with farmed animals, on the other hand, is methane, a gas which cycles out of the atmosphere in just a decade. That means less meat consumption quickly translates into a cooler planet."

It is a bit of a headscratcher; dropping meat may be better than driving a Prius, but following a well balanced carbon diet would seem to be the most rational approach. ::Alternet