Beef: It's what's for dinner, if you hate the American pika

This piece in Common Dreams, titled "Hamburgers are the Hummers of Food in Global Warming: Scientists," provides some excellent stats about meat consumption and carbon footprints.

Even though beef only accounts for 30 percent of meat consumption in the developed world it's responsible for 78 percent of the emissions, Pelletier said Sunday at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

That's because a single kilogram of beef produces 16 kilograms carbon dioxide equivalent emissions: four times higher than pork and more than ten times as much as a kilogram of poultry, Pelletier said.

If people were to simply switch from beef to chicken, emissions would be cut by 70 percent, Pelletier said.

And if you were to switch to vegetarian or vegan, even better for the American Pika, a cute "rock rabbit" that can't take the warming climate in its mountain homes.

And hey, if your heart doesn't melt at the sight of a pika, you might want to see a cardiologist.