Do your doo diligence

06/29/23 • 26 min

1 Listener

Outside/In

Most dog owners know they’re supposed to scoop the poop.

But when a pup does the deed off the trail, a lot of otherwise responsible citizens find themselves wondering... Is it really better to pick it up in a plastic bag and throw it in the garbage? Isn’t dog poop... natural?

Listen to the latest edition of This, That, or The Other Thing: our series about the little decisions we make in life to try and build a more sustainable world – whether they have any effect and what we can do instead if they don’t.

This time, we’re wrestling with a major ick factor: should I leave my dog’s poop in the woods, or put it in a plastic bag and entomb it forever in a landfill? And why do otherwise environmentally-minded folks look the other way when it comes to the impact of our furry friends?

Featuring Stephanie Chow, Anthony Drouin, Ben Goldfarb, Rebecca Perlstein, Forrest Schwartz, Jennifer Williams

SUPPORT

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Submit a question to our Outside/Inbox. We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to [email protected] or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

LINKS

The Leave No Trace organization studied how to get more people to pick up after their dogs in Boulder’s Open Space and Mountain Parks.

Dog waste is a major source of water pollution.

“Dogs are a beach’s worst nightmare” according to Ben Goldfarb in Hakkai Magazine.

Stephanie Chow of Pet Poo Skiddoo breaks down which dog waste bags are truly compostable here.

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by Jessica Hunt.

Mixed by Taylor Quimby.

Edited by Nate Hegyi and Taylor Quimby, with help from Justine Paradis and Rebecca Lavoie.

Executive producer: Rebecca Lavoie.

Music by Blue Dot Sessions, Spring Gang, El Flaco Collective, and Daniel Fridell.

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

Most dog owners know they’re supposed to scoop the poop.

Featuring Stephanie Chow, Anthony Drouin, Ben Goldfarb, Rebecca Perlstein, Forrest Schwartz, Jennifer Williams

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In.

LINKS

The Leave No Trace organization studied how to get more people to pick up after their dogs in Boulder’s Open Space and Mountain Parks.

Dog waste is a major source of water pollution.

“Dogs are a beach’s worst nightmare” according to Ben Goldfarb in Hakkai Magazine.

Stephanie Chow of Pet Poo Skiddoo breaks down which dog waste bags are truly compostable here.

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by Jessica Hunt.

Mixed by Taylor Quimby.

Edited by Nate Hegyi and Taylor Quimby, with help from Justine Paradis and Rebecca Lavoie.

Executive producer: Rebecca Lavoie.

Music by Blue Dot Sessions, Spring Gang, El Flaco Collective, and Daniel Fridell.

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

Previous Episode

The Call of the Void

[Editor's Note: This episode first aired in April 2022]
Last year our host, Nate Hegyi, was on the edge of a very high cliff in Utah’s Zion National Park when he heard a little voice inside his head whisper... “jump.”

He didn’t heed the call, thankfully, and when he got down safely he discovered that more than a third of all people might feel this urge, ominously known as “the call of the void.”

Most of us can wave off these impulses. But what if you couldn’t? What if the call of the void was so intense that you almost acted? Is there a cure?

This episode contains a contextual reference to suicidal ideation. If you or someone you know is struggling with depression, anxiety, or just needs someone to talk to, reach out to the folks at the Crisis Text Line, a texting service for emotional crisis support. To speak with a trained listener, text HELLO to 741741. It is free, available 24/7, and confidential.

Featuring: Jennifer Hames, Stephen Hunt

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In.

Subscribe to our FREE newsletter.

Follow Outside/In on Instagram or Twitter, or join our private discussion group on Facebook

LINKS

This 2020 study, in BMC Psychiatry, looks at the prevalence of high place phenomenon and whether it’s connected to suicidal ideation.

Read Jennifer Hames’ paper in The Journal of Affective Disorders on the “call of the void”: “An urge to jump affirms the urge to live: an empirical examination of the high place phenomenon.”

The Imp of the Perverse, by Edgar Allen Poe

Marconi Union, “Weightless”

Listen to our previous episode “Even Hikers Get The Blues”

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by: Nate Hegyi.

Mixer: Nate Hegyi and Taylor Quimby

Editing by Taylor Quimby, with help from Justine Paradis, Jessica Hunt, Felix Poon and Rebecca Lavoie.

Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer

Music for this episode by Marconi Union, Sour Mash, Dew of Light, Gavin Luke, and Christopher Moe Ditlevsen.

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

Next Episode

Shrimp on the line

2 Recommendations

We love shrimp in the United States. As a country, we eat over 2 billion pounds a year, making it the most consumed seafood in the country. So times should be really good for shrimpers, right? In this episode, our friends at the Sea Change podcast from WWNO and WRKF head to the docks and out in the bayous with shrimpers fighting for a livelihood and a culture that has been here for centuries.

This narrative episode goes on a journey from the fishing docks to shrimping in the bayous exploring land loss, climate change, and other issues endangering the future of the Gulf shrimp industry. We also uncover the threats imported shrimp pose to a way of life and human health.

Featuring Justin Kennedy, Thomas Gonzales, Acy Cooper, Gary Mayfield, Eddy Hayes, Donald Dardar, and Steve Morris.