“52 percent of dead sea otters washing up on California beaches were infected with the parasite Toxoplasma gondii, the source of which was cat feces.”
“Ten million tons of dog and cat excreta are disposed of each year in the United States; the city of San Francisco estimates that pet wastes make up 4 percent of its residential waste stream -- almost as much as disposable diapers.
Poop B Gone, which had a prominent booth at the Pet Expo, is part of a rapidly growing service industry to help busy homeowners deal with pet wastes. In the areas of Long Island that they service, yard cleanup for one to two dogs runs $15 a week; litter box service is $59 a month for one or two cats, $105 for six to eight. I asked Mike, one of Poop B Gone's proprietors, if there was extra money to be made from the nutrient-rich dog wastes he collects. Has he considered a joint venture with a compost or energy entrepreneur? "No, we just have to pay the landfill to take it," he said.”
- Salina, Kansas plant breeder Stan Cox, speaking truth to power on the
pages of Alternet.
Of course, dog shit carried enzymes which are really useful for the tannery industry. This may explain why tanneries were always placed at least 5 miles down wind of population centres. In the Middle Ages, any man who tupped the tanners daughter was considered to be seriously scraping the bottom of the barrel. (Or walking on the dirty side of the street...) William the Conqueror was thought to be the illegitimate son of the the king and a tanner's daughter...for the whole of his life, they called him the "tannist".
ReplyDeleteI have taken to wrapping old tires around the trees in my local park, and getting the local dog walkers to scoop their dogs feces and putting them inside the tires. It seems to work, is not smelly, and the trees are loving it.
I've taken to wrapping dead sea otters around the trees in my local park...
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting about the tanners. I have a fuzzy recollection of Juvenal talking about the tanning district of ancient Rome...