Thu 19 Apr 2007
Holy cow! Cattle belching harder on environment than cars!?!
Posted by BJ Sintay under Science
The United Nations has released a report blaming the world’s cow herds as the single-most greatest cause of the depleting environmental conditions… global warming, acid rain, deforestation, reef destruction, and oceanic “dead zones” to name a few. Al Gore, you can stop blaming the Republicans. Approximately 18% of all greenhouse gases are blamed on cattle (cows). This percentage is higher than that contributed by all of the world’s transportation mechanisms (cars, airplanes, ships) put together!
I had no idea that burping cows produced nearly 1/3 of all methane in the atmosphere. Methane, as luck would have it, warms the earth 20 times faster than CO2!!! And there are other factors: 2/3 of the world’s ammonia emissions come from cattle (causing acid rain); emissions from producing fertilizer and transporting meat total 9% of all CO2; deforestation from overgrazing is creating deserts in many areas; and cattle use a lot of water - 990 liters per liter of milk produced!
It gets worse, those little buggers don’t even say excuse me! Meanwhile they are slowing destroying our planet with no end in sight. I propose a compromise.
According to Colorado State University, one cow can belch more than 50 million metric tons of methane gas each year. I say we find a way to capture this gas and use it to meet our fuel needs! Methane cars, power plants, and even batteries. Your neighborhood cow, Betsy, could be used to recharge your cell phone. Now, where’s the number for my patent lawyer…
Sources:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4_176.html
http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article2062484.ece
November 12th, 2007 at 6:53 am
http://environment.independent.co.uk/climate_change/article2062484.ece
i guess this is the correct link.
August 2nd, 2008 at 6:51 pm
The information here is not up to date:
As to global methane production, this argument is really up for grabs! According to Texas A & M University experts, cattle are NOT a significant contributor; cattle are responsible for 2.9 Tg per year – which translates to about 0.5% of the total estimated world production of methane each year. Only 7% of world methane production likely comes from cattle.
Driving to the store to shop for groceries accounts for 100 times MORE “greenhouse gas” than a hamburger. Moreover, centuries of buffalo/bison across the North American continent would have been just as culpable as today’s cattle.
In addition, claims that U.S. forest land converted to grazing/farm lands has been spurred on by cattle, are misleading. Between 1900 and 1980, the number of U.S. forest lands converted to other uses was 64 million acres; in fact, forest land decreased by only 9 percent. Millions of forest lands are reforested every year, which means that timber is a resource that is being conserved, not used up. Much more important and significant have been the conversion of woodland and FARMLAND into urban development.
Cattle hooves act to stir the soil, move and transplant grass seed. They do not overgraze, by nature; they roam naturally and continually. They are also creatures of habit, crossing streams in a line, not damaging the banks like many people assume. MOREOVER, according to recent studies, GRASS-FED BEEF ARE BELIEVED TO HELP REVERSE THE GREEHNOUSE EFFECTS. Pastures and grasslands store carbon, vs. releasing it into the atmosphere!