Cooper and me saving energy on the couchMy cousin Mark is a pretty smart guy who reads widely. (All my cousins are above average.) Here is what Mark sent to me in an e-mail about dogs:

Professor Temple Grandin says that dogs are genetic wolves that have co-evolved with humans for 100,000 years, maybe more. Hence dogs and humans have complementary advantages and deficits. Humans used to have a better sense of hearing and smell, now dogs are better than us at those. Humans walk upright and have better vision and organizational skills, so dogs depend on us to see things and try to find them. Both are social creatures. So the lesson is that Nature has bundled the hardware and software for these skills and abilities between the two species. Unbundling them carries certain risks, so you should try to live with a dog if you can.

I agree that dogs and humans are a pretty good combination. Michele and I have had a dog for about a year now. Cooper is a medium-sized Labradoodle, which is a Lab and Poodle mix. He's a great dog and we love him a lot. He's heartbreakingly cute and cuddly. He has a Lab's great disposition and a Poodle's smarts. We think he's the best dog ever.

But, along with being a good partner, is Cooper an energy efficient addition to our household? Are pets, and dogs in particular, a step in the right direction in the battle against global warming and the fight for energy security? Is Underdog more than a cartoon?

I think "bundling" ourselves with animals is a good idea for lots of reasons, but here is why I think dogs are energy efficient:

1.)   Dogs add warmth in the winter and stay outside most of the time in the summer, so they don't add much to a house's cooling load.

2.)   Dogs add fur in the winter and cool themselves using their tongues. Try that, humans!

3.)  When he has nothing to do, Cooper lays down flat as a pancake and barely moves, thereby conserving energy.

4.)  Dogs are great alarm systems and don't even need batteries.

5.)  Dogs eat stuff that humans throw away. They will clean your plates if you let them, saving water and energy.

6.)  Because dogs need to be walked, they cause their owners to exercise, reducing their owners' appetite and therefore their food intake (that's how it's supposed to work).

7.)  Dogs give you unconditional love and so you don't have to drive your car to visit family and friends.

Anybody want to weigh in on cats?

What are the options for eco-friendly cat litter?In researching this blog post, I continually ran across the word "conundrum" – which is defined as a puzzling question or problem. Used in a sentence, one might say, "I am a cat owner who cares about the environment. What to do about their poop presents quite a conundrum."

Let's explore the facts around this puzzle.

Fact: There are approximately 88.3 million companion cats in the United States, according to the Humane Society of the US.

Fact: All of them poop. The poop and the kitty litter must go somewhere.

Fact: The traditional clay litters have been criticized for being resourced through strip-mining, and may contain harmful chemicals that cats can lick from their fur.

These three facts alone are reason enough to feel the effects of a conundrum, but let's explore further.

Fact: Flushing cat poop down the toilet is an option once suggested by environmentalists, but is now an eco- No-No. Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite found in cat's intestines, can be passed through the feces.

When flushed, the T. Gondii travels with the toilet water from your house to a treatment center (where it resists treatment) to the bay to the Pacific Ocean and into the habitat of many sea creatures, including the Sea Otter.

A UC Davis study of otters that live in areas near freshwater runoff, found that 42% of live otters and 62% of dead otters tested positive for T.  Gondii.

In fact, recent legislation will require kitty litters bags to include warning labels about flushing.

(Editor's note: QUEST's very first TV story, ""What's Killing the Sea Otters?" – 2/6/07- " covers this topic in detail.)

Now that we are clear on the conundrum, let's explore some options.

Reclaimed Wood Litter: Litter made from reclaimed wood is an greener option. Pine and cedar sawdust that would normally end up in landfills is concentrated without the use of dangerous chemicals to produce environmentally safe litter. Feline Pine, Nature's Earth and Catfresh are options.

Recycled Newspaper Litter: Try litter made from recycled newspapers. The paper absorbs just as well and re-uses resources. Two great brands are Yesterdays News and Good Mews.

Plant-based Litters: Plant-based litters are made from materials such as corn, corncobs, cornhusks, wheat by-products, wheat grass and beet pulp. These biodegradable materials, have no odor, are very absorbent and don't produce the same kind or volume of dust as clay litters.

Biodegradable Bags: These are available at most pet stores. Use the biodegradable litter with them.

Composting: Being a Zoo employee, we are BIG composters of our herbivore poop, creating rich and wonderful soil to grow our botanical paradise at Knowland Park. NatureMill, makers of the pet-friendly composter claim that it is possible to compost pet poop, as well.  This composter, made from recycled and recyclable materials, is an easy to use alternative. Just add food scraps and the computerized composter heats up the ingredients to the 140 degrees (the EPA suggests over 130 degrees). Out comes soil for your flowerbed.

Make Your Own Kitty Litter: The DIY-crowd may even wish to attempt a hand-crafted solution.

These are all great alternatives that, of course, present more questions. Like all environmental issues these days, each solution may lead to a new puzzle or conundrum for us to wrap our greening brains around. Let's keep on exploring!

Snow leopardRecently I had to return several bird specimens to the Ornithology and Mammalogy department at the Academy. This project afforded me an opportunity to go into the pelt and bird room. The room, essentially a large refrigerator, was a brisk 58 degrees and packed with all sorts of wonderful specimens. Birds of all kinds stood picturesque on shelves while pelts of lions, tigers, bears among other mammals lined the walls several feet deep.

Specimens were sorted into taxonomical groups with relation to each other. Some specimens were a century old if not older, including an elephant skin shot in Africa by President Teddy Roosevelt in 1908. As mammals are my greatest love in natural history, I was in awe of the great variety of specimens. One specimen in particular took my breath away. Buried below the pelts of tigers with their massive paws was the smaller and more elusive Uncia uncia better known as the Snow Leopard. The first thing that struck me about the pelt was the length of the tail. For balance on the slippery climes of mountainous central and South Asia, snow leopards use incredibly long tails for balancing while stalking their prey of mountain goats, wild sheep, and small mammals. They will traverse up and down perilous cliffs in pursuit of prey and do so with an extraordinary balance. Watching Planet Earth recently, I was enthralled watching live footage of an actual hunt on a cliff. The speed and agility of these animals is incredible.

It was studying the Snow Leopard that made me fall in love with the big cat family and set me on a course to learn about conservation. I had to give a report in fifth grade about the cat and I still can remember drawing the body out on the board to show that the tail was usually the same length as the cat's body. I was so nervous during the talk that my lips trembled giving me a horrible stutter through out. Yet, that was the first time I became really passionate about an animal and ultimately conservation. I remember thinking "This leopard could become extinct in my lifetime…"

This is still a very likely scenario, although they are now on the "Red List" of endangered species. There are only about 7,500 Snow Leopards in the wild and fewer than 700 in zoos around the world. This animal is a perfect example of an animal's needs and habitat battling against the needs of a local people and economy. Protection of the Snow Leopard includes research and tracking. It also includes education and empowering the villagers that share a habitat with them to protect them as well. Poaching of Snow Leopards has been one of the main causes for their demise. Historically they have been hunted for their thick fur and killed as a pest because in lean years they kill the goats and sheep of local villages. Conservation groups like the Snow Leopard Trust understand that conservation is not only about research but creating economical and educational opportunities for local people who live with these animals. I am hoping conservation endeavors will continue to protect animals living in the wild. It would be a shame if in my lifetime Snow Leopards were only noted as pelts hanging in museums like the Academy.