Sunday
Aug172008
Environmental Terrorism On The Rise
Sunday, August 17, 2008 at 4:48AM | Share Article 
Experts recently discovered that deliberate systematic ground poisoning has been occurring in many residential areas. This activity has put millions of children at risk of serious illness or worse. These acts of environmental terrorism have been widespread across North America.
Yes it is true. It is estimated that over 40% of dog owners do not scoop up poop when walking their dogs. Once deposited on the ground, fecal bacteria eventually makes it's way into streams and rivers via storm runoff and other means. Residents may be subjected to several different bacteria while swimming at local beaches or drinking local water. The list of bacteria includes E-coli, Campylobacter amd Salmonella, Streoptocaucus, salmonella and parasites. Parasites, such as tape worms, may be passed on to children playing near where the poop is located.
So what can be done about this situation? Not much except to try and educate these "environmental terrorists".
What about the remaining 60% of dog walkers? They scoop the poop but there are still environmental issues. For instance, the plastic bags used to store the poop are not eco-friendly, taking over 200 years to biodegrade. It is estimated that landfill sites have 4% dog poop, rivalling disposable diapers.
If you fall into the 60% of dog walkers who scoop their dog's poop then there are some things you can do to minimize your pooch's eco-footprint. The first suggestion is to replace the plastic bags with biodegradeable poop storage bags. When you get home from a walk the best disposal action is to flush the poop down the toilet.It will be handled in the same fashion as the human version (problem solved). Alternately the poop can be composted provided that the compost is NOT put on vegetable gardens, other plant and trees that have edible berries or fruit, etc.
If all else fails then call in a poop-and-scoop service. The service would be responsible for poop and disposing of the poop in an environmentally sound fashion.
Reader Comments (7)
Does the same apply out in the woods or does nature buffer the pet disease issues?
This is a good question. Certainly in an urban setting there tends to be a large concentration of dog poop in areas frequented by dog walkers. In this case it is more of a problem. In rural areas dog poop should be OK unless close to a lake (swimming) or houses/cottages that use water not processed through a treatment plant.
The other thing to keep in mind is potential for exposure to animals living in the woods.
Terrorism...thats a strong word for acting one way or the other with dog poop! I think we are carrying this too far. Birds and animals have always been free creatures who poop in the open and the ground water never got contaminated by that.
But yes dog owners should clear their canines poop because it is plain bad manners to leave it behind.
Thank you for the comments. They are always appreciated.
Of course terrorism is a strong word. I apologize for shamelessly attempting to attract attention to the problem. The picture of the dog with his tongue sticking out should be a big tip-off that it isn't really about terrorists though.
Dog poop is more than bad manners. Here are some internet articles on the subject:
Dummies.com What to Do with Doggy Doo
http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/id-1467.html
Quote:
"Scientists have discovered that dog poop is a major cause of water pollution, and that such pollution poses a significant hazard to human health. In fact, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says pet waste is a significant cause of water body contamination in areas where there are high concentrations of dogs."
USA Today Dog Waste Poses Threat to Water
http://www.usatoday.com/news/science/2002-06-07-dog-usat.htm
Charity Guide Prevent Water Pollution: Clean Up After Your Dog
http://www.charityguide.org/volunteer/fifteen/water-pollution.htm
You can't get canine tapeworms from their feces. The only way to contract them is by eating fleas that carry the larvae; that is how their lifecycle works.
oh, and also, throwing away bio-degradable bags is just as bad, if not worse, than throwing out a plastic bag. The bio-degradable bags are unable to bio-degrade when they end up in the anaerobic environment of the landfill site, so instead of becoming compost, they produce methane gas as they break down. The methane contributes to greenhouse gas emissions...so these bags are only useful if you intend to compost them. At least the plastic bag just sits there inertly. I am not, by any means, advocating the use of plastic bags, but perhaps we need to come up with a better solution.
Thanks for the info Alan. You are right about the tape worms. Our cat coughed up some very large tape worms during the summer. Too bad you can't explain this to my wife - she put our family through hell with medical tests after that little incident....She had previously seen some documentary about body snatchers...tape worms and the like and was totally freaked out.