Nowadays it seems as if the Left is politicizing everything with a plethora of new taboos. The latest item on their taboo list is your Fourth of July picnic, specifically hot dogs and hamburgers. As you gather with family and friends to munch on those treats fresh off the grill, little did you know that you are destroying the planet according to leftist political orthodoxy. Here is Rebecca Leber of The New Republic as she tries to guilt trip you over hot dog and hamburger carbon emissions:
When Americans fire up their grills on Independence Day, they'll dump up to 882 million pounds of carbon pollution into the atmosphere—the equivalent of burning 2,145 railcars of coal. And that doesn’t even include the carbon burned just by driving to July 4 celebrations or the pollution that leeches from fireworks displays.
While it's unlikely those stats will convince most Americans to skip the summer cookouts and fireworks, there is a less socially obtrusive way to be more environmentally responsible on the Fourth of July: Avoid the traditional barbecue fare.
...Red meat has the biggest environmental footprint, which is largely a result from the methane produced by cow digestion and manure. Methane is anywhere between 25 to 36 times more potent than carbon over 100 years. The process of raising and delivering beef to your grill results in 27 kilograms of carbon-equivalent emissions, four times as much as chicken, and 13 times as much as vegeterian options. Since chickens aren't responsible for high levels of methane, and because they require less feed than cows, they account for fewer emissions overall. But vegetarian fare has the smallest climate impact.
So cow flatulence resulting in methane will destroy the planet? How about if we add Beano or Gas-X to their feed?
Perhaps Leber never heard of China because guess which country she blames for the highest pollution:
The average American already bears more blame for climate change than citizens anywhere else, thanks to the country's position as the world's biggest polluter historically and its high emissions-per-capita. So do your part this holiday weekend: Swap that beef burger for a black-bean burger.
But wouldn't black-bean burgers cause flatulence which produces methane?
Exit question: How many hot dogs and hamburgers have to be eaten to equal the amount of carbon emissions produced by just one Al Gore private jet flight to a global warming conference?
