Driving Better Than Walking in Global Warming Fight

Did you know walking does more damage to the environment than driving? So says Chris Goodall, author of "How to Live a Low-Carbon Life." (See article at TimesOnline.co.uk. Hat Tip Independent Conservative.) Based on Goodall's calculations, one's carbon footprint is larger when walking three miles as opposed to driving. He includes activities involved in getting food to the table in coming to his conclusion. Further, it does not matter if our hypothetical walker ate meat or drank a glass of milk to replenish him/herself. The problem as Goodall sees it is in the system used for food production and distribution.

When I first read this article I thought it was written tongue-in-cheek. Yet, a quick Google search shows Goodall is not the only one to propose such a theory. I must admit, his math seems sound. So what are we to do if exercise and eating is bad for the environment?

According to the article, Goodall supports a diet of "cereals and pulses." However, I have been told that people who eat "healthy" diets tend to produce more...um...gas, especially in the first weeks of making a change. Another quick Google search shows this is most likely true. So if we all switched to a vegan diet of cereals and pulses we run the risk of increasing the number of methane producing people, and who knows what affect that might have on Global Warming.

I guess the only answer is to stop eating, thereby reducing everyone's carbon footprint. In fact such and action would eventually reduce the average output of carbon dioxide to zero. We would stem the tide on Global Warming...unless of course the number of methane producing cows goes up due to a lack of anyone to eat them.