A UCLA professor has set off a firestorm of protest by publishing an article claiming that dogs and cats have a big impact on the climate and that pet owners should think about buying a hamster or reptile or bird instead. Some pet owners misunderstood what Professor Gregory Okin was saying, believing he meant we should get rid of our cats and dogs.  But in a statement clarifying his paper, the professor said he wasn't saying that at all. Washington Times: In his paper published last week, UCLA professor Gregory S. Okin found that meat-eating dogs and cats create the equivalent of 64 million tons of carbon dioxide per year based on the energy consumption required to produce their food, or the same impact as driving 13.6 million cars. "I like dogs and cats, and I'm definitely not recommending that people get rid of their pets or put them on a vegetarian diet, which would be unhealthy," Mr. Okin said in a statement. "But I do think we should...(Read Full Post)