The Southwest Portland Post., April 01, 2013, Page 8, Image 8

8 • The Southwest Portland Post
(Continued from Page 7)
water consumption.
“On average, a vegan, a person who
eats no meat or dairy, indirectly con-
sumes nearly 600 gallons of water per
day less than a person who eats the
average American diet,” reports Sandra
Postel, director of the Global Water
Policy Project and the lead water expert
How much water you consume depends
directly or indirectly on what you're eating.
(Photo courtesy of iStockPhoto)
NEWS
on the National Geographic Society’s
Freshwater Initiative.
But those loathe to giving up meat
entirely should consider switching
to only grass-fed beef. According to
Postel, it takes some 5,300 liters of
fresh water for every dollar’s worth of
grain fed to a typical beef cow, while
the water required to feed grass-fed
cattle falls on the pasture from the sky,
meaning it is free and does not deplete
groundwater reserves at all. “Not all
burgers are created equal,” she says.
Postel adds that another way to cut
down on one’s water footprint would
be to give up or cut back on coffee: One
cup takes some 55 gallons of water to
make, with most used to grow the cof-
fee beans.
Choosing organic food can also help
keep an individual’s indirect water
consumption in check. Organic farm-
ing techniques conserve water both by
using less, increasing the water-holding
capacity of soils and reducing erosion
as well as by not polluting nearby wa-
ter bodies with run-off from synthetic
chemical inputs.
CONTACTS: Livestock’s Long Shad-
ow, http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/
a0701e/a0701e00.htm; Global Water
Policy Project, http://www.global-
waterpolicy.org/.org; National Geo-
graphic’s Freshwater Initiative, http://
environment.nationalgeographic.
com/environment/freshwater/about-
freshwater-initiative.
EarthTalk® is written and edited by
Roddy Scheer and Doug Moss and is a reg-
istered trademark of E - The Environmental
Magazine (www.emagazine.com). Send
questions to: earthtalk@emagazine.com.
April 2013
POLICE BLOTTER
Portland Police respond to
possible cougar sighting in
Southwest Portland
March 26, 2013, at approximately
2:00 p.m., Portland Police officers as-
signed to Central Precinct responded
to the area of Southwest Sam Jackson
Park Road and 10th Avenue on the
report of a cougar in the neighborhood.
Officers contacted the caller who
reported seeing a large animal with a
two-feet-long curled tail behind a resi-
dence in the 3300 block of Southwest
10th Avenue.
The caller and another person re-
ported to police that they are hunters
and are familiar with cougars. Officers
checked the area but could not confirm
the presence of a cougar.
The neighborhood where the possi-
ble cougar sighting occurred is directly
above Oregon Health Science Univer-
sity, Doernbecher Children's Hospital,
the Shriners Hospital for Children, and
the Portland Veterans Administration
Medical Center. This neighborhood is
next to Marquam Nature Park and not
far from Washington Park.
The Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife (ODFW) has some tips to
remember about cougars: http://www.
dfw.state.or.us/wildlife/living_with/
cougars.asp.
ODFW advises the following if you
encounter a cougar:
STOP - Never approach a cougar at
any time for any reason.
STAY CALM - Face the cougar and
do not turn your back towards it. Do
not run. Running encourages it to
chase.
APPEAR LARGE - Make yourself
look large. Do not bend over or crouch
down. Raise your hands. Hold your
coat open. Hold small children.
FIGHT BACK - Fight back if at-
tacked.
MAKE NOISE - Make noise while
hiking to reduce the chance of surpris-
ing a cougar.
KEEP CHILDREN CLOSE - Always
keep children close by and in sight.
AVOID WALKING ALONE - While
there have been no other reported cou-
gar sightings, the Portland Police Bu-
reau would like community members
to be aware of the possible sighting and
encourages anyone seeing a cougar
not to approach it but to immediately
call 9-1-1.