Statistics is officially dead and correlation is causation in our brave new world. New research has cautioned that climate change may lead to an increase in… dog bites! According to a study conducted by Harvard Medical School, there is an 11 percent higher likelihood of dogs attacking people on days with elevated UV levels (the “ozone layer hole” fear is so 20th century). Previous investigations have already established a connection between high temperatures, air pollution, and increased aggression in humans, rats, and monkeys. Now, it seems that as the weather becomes warmer, our beloved “man’s best friend” could turn hostile towards us.
The authors of the study assert that dogs, or the interactions between humans and dogs, exhibit more aggression on hot, sunny, and smoggy days. Consequently, the societal repercussions of extreme heat and air pollution include the expenses associated with animal aggression (in other words: the green bill gets more and more expensive as more and more studies like this are furnished. Now that’s causation!)
