A true environmental crisis

The following is a "guest post" by my esteemed colleague Peter B in Australia:

http://www.care2.com/causes/u-s-waters-polluted-by-10-million-tons-of-dog-poop.html

Dog Waste Threatens Public Health

“Dog waste is an environmental pollutant. In 1991, it was placed in the same health category as oil and toxic chemicals by the Environmental Protection Agency,” explains Virginia-based pet waste removal company Doody Calls in a press release. “The longer dog waste stays on the ground, the greater a contamination becomes. Bacteria, worms and other parasites thrive in waste until it’s washed away into the water supply.”

USAToday reports that 40% of dog owners do not pick up their dog’s waste at all and all that waste pollutes waterways. Because scientists are able to track the origin of the fecal bacteria to the species that excreted it, we even know how much. One study showed as much as 90% of the fecal coliform in urban stormwater was of non-human origin, mostly dog.


Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/u-s-waters-polluted-by-10-million-tons-of-dog-poop.html#ixzz1sqEHlLxu