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Cows that burp less seen helping in climate fight
Reuters ^
| July 9, 2007
Posted on 07/09/2007 7:43:45 PM PDT by Canticle_of_Deborah
LONDON (Reuters) - Manners aside, getting cows to burp less can help reduce global warming.
Using modern plant-breeding methods to find new diets for cows that make them belch less is a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, scientists said on Monday.
The key is developing new varieties of food that are easier for cattle to digest and also provide a proper balance of fiber, protein and sugar, said Michael Abberton, a scientist at the UK-based Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research.
This could open up plant-based solutions as alternatives to reducing stock as farmers look for ways to cut methane emissions amid warming climates, he told a briefing on farming and climate change at London's Science Media Centre.
He noted the average dairy cow belches out about 100 to 200 liters of methane each day, making diet changes a key potential factor in reducing this greenhouse gas.
"There is a common misperception about how methane gets into the atmosphere," he said. "It is actually through belching rather than the other end."
Agriculture is responsible for about seven percent of UK greenhouse gas emissions and a large proportion of two of the most potent gases with 37 percent of methane and 67 percent of nitrous oxide.
TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
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The guilty party.
To: Canticle_of_Deborah
If their methane emissions are too much, perhaps we can fit them with cattle-itic converters.
[insert groan here]
2
posted on
07/09/2007 7:44:47 PM PDT
by
Petronski
(Just say no to Rudy McRomney.)
To: Canticle_of_Deborah
Stop the burping! Eat more steak!
3
posted on
07/09/2007 7:45:36 PM PDT
by
Man50D
(Fair Tax, you earn it, you keep it!)
To: Canticle_of_Deborah
RFK Jr says they all should be shot as traitors.
I'll take mine, "medium rare"
4
posted on
07/09/2007 7:46:22 PM PDT
by
BallyBill
(Serial Hit-N-Run poster)
To: Canticle_of_Deborah
I don’t think so,,my MIL has these beat,,,
5
posted on
07/09/2007 7:47:40 PM PDT
by
silentreignofheroes
(When the Last Two Prophets are taken, there will be no Tommorrow!)
To: Canticle_of_Deborah
Wait a minute ... not so long ago COW GAS was doing us in.
Now it’s “burping”?
Do HUMAN “burps” and gas contribute to the burning up of our planet?
What will be next? Yawning? Hiccups? What?
6
posted on
07/09/2007 7:49:17 PM PDT
by
nmh
(Intelligent people recognize Intelligent Design (God) .)
To: Canticle_of_Deborah
7
posted on
07/09/2007 7:49:32 PM PDT
by
fatima
(Baby alert,Baby Ava arrived 6-29-07 at 3 PM-she is 10 pounds:))
To: Canticle_of_Deborah
Manners aside, getting cows to burp less can help reduce global warming.
What a lot of wasted effort: atmospheric methane is about 1.7 ppm (water vapor is 40,000 ppm); only a tiny fraction of that tiny fraction is from cows. Besides, the amount of atmospheric methane has been decreasing for quite a while.
8
posted on
07/09/2007 7:50:30 PM PDT
by
aruanan
To: Canticle_of_Deborah
Ideally these nut cases would like it if ALL conservatives just stopped breathing. Then there’d be more resources for everyone and “peace on earth”.
9
posted on
07/09/2007 7:51:02 PM PDT
by
nmh
(Intelligent people recognize Intelligent Design (God) .)
To: nmh
Do HUMAN burps and gas contribute to the burning up of our planet?
You are truly clueless! Human burps can be negated by purchasing carbon offsets! C'mon, get with the socialist program! ;O)
10
posted on
07/09/2007 7:51:39 PM PDT
by
Man50D
(Fair Tax, you earn it, you keep it!)
To: Canticle_of_Deborah
Kinda reminds me of all the things that supposedly causes cancer.
11
posted on
07/09/2007 7:53:51 PM PDT
by
mtg
To: Canticle_of_Deborah
Al Gore’s eulogy: Well, if there is one thing that Al Gore did that was good, it is that he got us cows that don’t burp.
To: Petronski
cattle-itic converters You get the prize for the best laugh in months! I've got the hiccups from laughing - oh oh, do hiccups release - gasp - gas?
13
posted on
07/09/2007 8:01:12 PM PDT
by
maine-iac7
( "...but you can't fool all of the people all the time." LINCOLN)
To: Canticle_of_Deborah
14
posted on
07/09/2007 8:04:49 PM PDT
by
ChildOfThe60s
(If you can remember the 60s........you weren't really there)
To: Canticle_of_Deborah
The pathetic thing here is most people do not see how outright bone crushingly
stupid all of this is.
These people have discovered the primordial mass from which all stupid in the entire universe evolved, and the majority of people aren’t standing outside pointing fingers at them and laughing?
15
posted on
07/09/2007 8:05:14 PM PDT
by
bill1952
("All that we do is done with an eye towards something else.")
To: Man50D
“You are truly clueless! Human burps can be negated by purchasing carbon offsets! C’mon, get with the socialist program! ;O) “
Oh or should I say MOOOO?
Me gets so confused ... .
;)
16
posted on
07/09/2007 8:06:30 PM PDT
by
nmh
(Intelligent people recognize Intelligent Design (God) .)
To: mtg
Everything causes cancer in laboratory rats.
17
posted on
07/09/2007 8:06:53 PM PDT
by
bill1952
("All that we do is done with an eye towards something else.")
To: Canticle_of_Deborah
So, how are they suppose to chew their cud?
18
posted on
07/09/2007 8:07:42 PM PDT
by
Calpernia
(Breederville.com)
To: Canticle_of_Deborah
There's a way to prevent a long lifetime of cattle burps: eat more veal.
19
posted on
07/09/2007 8:08:50 PM PDT
by
KarlInOhio
(A base looking for a party.)
To: Canticle_of_Deborah
It’s either burp and taste it or fart and waste it.
20
posted on
07/09/2007 8:09:05 PM PDT
by
stbdside
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