Publication: November 26, 2013
Link: http://www.ibtimes.com/cow-farts-have-larger-greenhouse-gas-impact-previously-thought-methane-pushes-climate-change-1487502
Summary
In this article, the author looked at the production of the greenhouse gas, methane, and how it contributes to climate change. Like carbon dioxide, methane also traps heat but it traps heat 21 times better than carbon dioxide. The main focus was on the methane produced from the livestock industry, the main source of the meat that many people eat. It talked about how cows produce a significant amount of methane, about 250-500 liters (about 66-132 gallons), every single day just by farting. A typical car holds about 16 gallons of gas so a single cow could produce an amount of methane that would fill about 8 average gas tanks. The article also looked towards finding solutions to the problems presented by the livestock. The solution looked at was the changing of the cows’ diet. By reducing the amount of corn and soy that the cow consumes and mixing in alfalfa, linseed and grass, the cow would have lower levels of fatty acids. This lower level of fatty acids would then lead to reductions in the methane let out by the cows.
Relevance
In class we looked at greenhouse gas emissions mainly through the emissions of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels and how that contributed to climate change. We also looked specifically at the carbon cycle and how carbon gets cycled through the biosphere. This article talks about another greenhouse gas, methane, which like carbon dioxide, is also a contributor to climate change (sometimes called global warming in the article”). It further connects by showing a different way greenhouse gases are emitted which many people aren't fully aware of. In class, we learned about the typical view of greenhouse gas emissions with carbon dioxide coming from the burning of fossil fuels. This article explained the effects methane could have on climate change through looking at the methane produced by livestock. Both methane and carbon dioxide together pose as a formidable threat to climate change. This also connects to our unit on matter and energy because methane is a gas formed from the two elements, carbon and hydrogen.
The livestock industry is a money making business, so how much more would it cost to feed livestock, specifically cows, grass rather than soy or corn?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure as to how much but in total, it is cheaper to feed these animals soy and corn instead of grass. However, it is important to note that corn and soy are not as naturally digested by the cows so some can develop diseases. The cost of corn and soy seed then goes up because the farmer has to buy antibiotics.
DeleteWould reducing the amount of corn and soy that a cow consumes and mixing in alfalfa, linseed and grass affect the production of meat from a cow? If so, by how much?
ReplyDeleteIt would likely not change the amount of meat produced as you are just replacing a part of the cow's diet with something else. By mixing in alfalfa, linseed, and grass, you're not really changing the amount of meat produced but the methane emissions do go down so in all, it would be better. However, the one problem is that it's more expensive to mix in these foods so livestock farmers feed the animals the cheaper, harmful food.
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