Meat Eaters Are Killing The Planet

According to a recent statement by a respected authority on Global Warming, the best way people can reduce their impact on the environment is to stop eating meat.  Lord Stern of Brentford, one of the world’s leading authorities on climate change says people should give up meat to stop global warming.  Lord Stern predicted that once people were fully educated on the ramifications of eating meat that in the future we may live in a society where meat eaters are shunned with the same ferocity as drunk drivers.  There are a variety of ways in which meat contributes to climate change and according to Lord Stern, the United Nation’s summit in Copenhagen addressed these issues.

Meat is one of, if not the biggest contributor to climate change according to a variety of experts.  Livestock like pigs and cows release tons of methane gas into the environment.  Methane is considerably worse for the environment than carbon and is one of the leading contributors to climate change.  IN addition it takes millions of tons of water and food to create meat, in fact, nearly one fifth of the world’s overall resources are used in the creation of beef and pork.

Possibly the biggest way that meat contributes to climate change is with the massive amounts of oil that it takes to produce the feed necessary to support millions of livestock.  Petro-chemicals, many of which are made from petroleum, are needed to grow corn, not to mention all of the equipment that it takes to farm it.  According to Lord Stern a vegetarian diet is far better for the environment and may be the only option if we truly want to fight climate change.

Why Recycle?

There is still a great deal of waste which could be recycled that ends up in landfill sites which is harmful to the environment. Recycling is an excellent way of saving energy and conserving the environment.
•    One recycled tin can would save enough energy to power a television for 3 hours.
•    One recycled glass bottle would save enough energy to power a computer for 25 minutes.
•    One recycled plastic bottle would save enough energy to power a 60-watt light bulb for 3 hours.
•    70% less energy is required to recycle paper compared with making it from raw materials.

Some Interesting Facts

•    Up to 60% of the rubbish that ends up in the dustbin could be recycled.
•    The unreleased energy contained in the average dustbin each year could power a television for 5,000 hours.
•    The largest lake in the Britain could be filled with rubbish from the UK in 8 months.
•    On average, 16% of the money you spend on a product pays for the packaging, which ultimately ends up as rubbish.
•    As much as 50% of waste in the average dustbin could be composted.
•    Up to 80% of a vehicle can be recycled.
•    9 out of 10 people would recycle more if it were made easier.