You, your pet, and climate change

> Your eco-destructive habits are impacting your pets

Sabrina Hansen Contributor

Imost everyone I know

recycles. There are a couple individuals that I (not proudly) associate with who would throw their plastic water bottle they had only bought an hour ago into the trash.

“Is it really that important?” they would ask, half expecting an answer. I would more than likely reply in a sassy tone: “Honestly, yeah.”

I’m sure everyone loves dogs and cats. Anyone reading this right now is probably smiling a little bit thinking about those “family members” of theirs, and how important they are to them, right? Because I know, for myself and the rest of my family, that this fur baby of ours is our world, honestly.

For those of you who don't believe that climate change is real or at all important, let me just tell you that it is. But climate change doesn’t only affect the wildlife in surrounding forests and parks in our neighbourhoods.

If you are the proud owner of a dog or cat, you must be familiar with heartworm, which is spread by mosquitoes. Giving your pet a pill or a shot prevents heartworm.

You must also be familiar with flea and tick control treatments, both of which being crucial in maintaining the general health of your pet. |

think most of us pet owners in the Lower Mainland (especially the ones with indoor cats) haven't given much thought about administering things such as monthly heartworm pills, spot treatments, and flea collars (which by the way, don’t work very well). Mosquitoes can easily find their indoors making your indoor pets just as much at risk as outdoor pets.

Our summers are becoming much hotter—and it looks like

it’s going to stay that way, at least according to climate change. They are also beginning and lasting longer. Winter, well... what even is winter anymore? Because of this, fleas and ticks are not disappearing like they should be anymore. Those longer, hotter summers we've been having are fuelling mosquitoes, making

People who need people-rating apps

> Controversial app Peeple is everything tech shouldn't become

Elliot Chan Opinions Editor

hate that review apps exist to

begin with. While customer reviews are one of the most trusted forms of marketing, I have little respect for the people who leave negative reviews. What can I say? When I read reviews sometimes, I often feel that those who wrote them are small people who need to do whatever it takes to feel big. They are using their power of free speech to harm a business.

Now, it gets worse. There is

now an app that allows you to rate and review people’s reputations. The app is called Peeple, and it is gaining a lot of negative publicity. Why not? Remember when you were young, and your parents taught you that if you have nothing good to say, then you shouldn't say anything at all? This teaching should not change in the digital age, but I believe it has. Take a look at all

the bullshit comments on social media if you don't believe me.

It’s clear that things are going to get worse before they are going to get better in this realm.

Interacting with people shouldn't be the same as buying electronics. You shouldn't go online, Google someone, and compare them with other people.

Image via thinkstock

them more widespread than ever. All these pests are getting harder to ignore. At this rate we can expect Lyme disease and heartworm disease to become more and more common. Why take a chance on your pet’s health by just skipping that monthly heartworm pill? Preventative treatments can get a little expensive over time, but treatment for heartworm once

Penne esha ole cece

The thing is, I know what the creators and founders of Peeple were thinking: so many people are shitty. Yes, of course, people are shitty, but that is life. Dealing with shitty people, whether

they are in front of you in the Starbucks lineup or they are

your parents, is a part of human existence. Technology does not

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Image via www.ocregister.com

make people more considerate or more caring, especially not

an app that encourages people to treat others like businesses.

If you were a business, you would separate the job from your personal identity. You would have a website, a LinkedIn page, a Facebook fan page, or anything else where you can

your pet is diagnosed is much, much more costly.

If you don’ take climate change seriously enough to participate in something as common as recycling, you should probably make some changes. I’m not talking about a drastic lifestyle change, but small readjustments would be enough. One example is unplugging things that you're not using at that moment—your phone charger for example. Try not to shower in water so hot that it steams up your bathroom ina matter of minutes, and time your showers as well. Trust me, I love standing under my showerhead for 25 minutes but it’s not a great contributor to being eco-friendly in the slightest. Consuming fewer packaged and processed foods and trying your best to eat locally could improve your personal impact on climate change as well.

Hopefully, by this point, I’ve got you thinking pro-actively about not just recycling but also everything in between. It’s no longer a matter of “saving the environment,’ because we are the environment. Every time you put your need fora hotter and longer shower first, you are putting the environment and climate change last. If you're still not convinced that climate change is happening and directly affecting you, just think about this: what would your pet want you to do?

have a two-way channel, where there can be communication, and progress to resolving an issue—should there be one. However, if it is just a review or a rating system, rarely is there any valuable feedback. It’s more or less just a rant or words of caution. Since, we aren't talking about a business but an actual human person with feelings, giving someone a one-star rating is a clear, unprovoked diss.

Let’s live in a world where we can approach each other as friends and speak honestly, rather than reviewing and rating others, harbouring animosity, and deterring others from having a genuine human experience. If you truly want to help someone, and not just judge them, you wouldn't use an app like Peeple to express your thoughts.

And for those who really care about their online reputation, well, maybe you should work on your actual human reputation first.