From the London Times: “How to stop cows burping is the new field work on climate change”
The methane emissions from both ends of cattle and sheep are causing so much concern in government that it has ordered researchers to find ways to cut down on the emissions from livestock, which account for about a quarter of the methane ? a greenhouse gas 20 times more powerful at driving global warming than carbon dioxide ? pumped into the atmosphere in Britain. Each day every one of Britain?s 10 million cows pumps out an estimated 100-200 litres of methane.
This is the equivalent of up to 4,000 grams of carbon dioxide and compares with the 3,419g of carbon dioxide pumped out by a Land Rover Freelander on an average day?s drive of 33 miles.
Picture the Beltline at 4:30 p.m. Now picture scenes from The Old Chisholm Trail. Same difference, except the Beltline is in color.
It only gets better …
Scientists attempting to find new foods for cattle have already exploded the myth that most bovine emissions come from the rear. They have found the majority come from belching … Sheep are now being sealed in polytunnels in field experiments to find out if the results of laboratory tests can be matched outdoors …
Ah, the romance of Science.? Someone please remind these people that cows are ruminants.? They burp.? That’s what ruminants do.
