Killer cow emissions: Why isn't anyone raising a stink?

halv

Food for thought from the LA Times:

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-methane15oct15,0,1365993.story?coll=la-tot-opinion&track=ntothtml

jlew24asu

is there anyway to stop it?

godpt3

why hasn't anybody done anything about it???


Because the problem isn't that significant. In fact, this was easily debunked more than 15 years ago. Compared to the damage caused by man, cows are just a drop in the bucket.



The real question is, why isn't anybody working to do more population control in Africa? Not only do you reduce poverty and hunger, you also reduce the production of greenhouse gasses.

halv

By not eating meat, or at least drastically reducing your consumption you can help in a big way.

jlew24asu

halv wrote:

By not eating meat, or at least drastically reducing your consumption you can help in a big way.

sorry, I love steak. fart on cows.

halv

godpt3 wrote:

why hasn't anybody done anything about it???


Because the problem isn't that significant. In fact, this was easily debunked more than 15 years ago. Compared to the damage caused by man, cows are just a drop in the bucket.



The real question is, why isn't anybody working to do more population control in Africa? Not only do you reduce poverty and hunger, you also reduce the production of greenhouse gasses.

That's your word against all the scientists and specialists working for the United Nations Food and Agriculture organisation. Not to mention other top scientists from around the world. No offense, but I'll take their word for it.

LikeAnOpeningBandForTheSun

If the world is so delicate that cow farts can destroy it, we were fucked from the start. I'm not gonna lose any sleep over this.

godpt3

halv wrote:

That's your word against all the scientists and specialists working for the United Nations Food and Agriculture organisation. Not to mention other top scientists from around the world. No offense, but I'll take their word for it.

I'm not saying cows don't produce methane, I'm saying that, in the grand scheme of things, the problem is overstated. Did you know that the Space Shuttle also causes ozone loss? It's true. Every launch releases tons of aluminum particles into the atmosphere from the rocket boosters. But is it a significant cause of greenhouse gasses? Absolutely not.

ledvedderman

jlew24asu wrote:

sorry, I love steak. fart on cows.

I too love steak...then they cause me to create my own hazard to the environment.

godpt3

halv wrote:

By not eating meat, or at least drastically reducing your consumption you can help in a big way.

Good. Then we can have the Brazilians tear up even more rainforests so they can produce even greater quantities of genetically-engineered soybeans.

LikeAnOpeningBandForTheSun

These problems are really just symptoms of human overpopulation.

Until someone solves the problem of there being too many people on the planet, all of these problems are irrelevent.

godpt3

MrSmith wrote:

Until someone solves the problem of there being too many people on the planet, all of these problems are irrelevent.

Voluntary Human Extinction Movement:
http://www.vhemt.org/

jlew24asu

ledvedderman wrote:

I too love steak...then they cause me to create my own hazard to the environment.

aint that the truth. speaking of, I had some steak tacos for lunch.

jlew24asu

godpt3 wrote:

Voluntary Human Extinction Movement:
http://www.vhemt.org/

that world has gone mad I tell ya, mad.

LikeAnOpeningBandForTheSun

godpt3 wrote:

Voluntary Human Extinction Movement:
http://www.vhemt.org/

Yes, EVERYONE should do this, except me

godpt3

MrSmith wrote:

Yes, EVERYONE should do this, except me

Don't worry... as long as the Pope's still Catholic you don't have anything to worry about. :(

godpt3

halv wrote:

That's your word against all the scientists and specialists working for the United Nations Food and Agriculture organisation. Not to mention other top scientists from around the world. No offense, but I'll take their word for it.

Go read up on Jeremy Rifkin. He was championing the whole "cows cause ozone loss" cause back in the early '90s. Turns out he was basically a "scientist for hire" and ended up being a schill for the oil industry.

halv

It's more than just cow farts. Read the entire article, do some research. It's land degradation, the vast amounts of waste from the 55 billions animals raised for slaughter, how livestock drink more than 50% of our freshwater, the energy and resources used to grow plants to feed to livestock when it could directly feed humans, etc etc.

jlew24asu

halv wrote:

It's more than just cow farts. Read the entire article, do some research. It's land degradation, the vast amounts of waste from the 55 billions animals raised for slaughter, how livestock drink more than 50% of our freshwater, the energy and resources used to grow plants to feed to livestock when it could directly feed humans, etc etc.

I'm sure thats probably true. maybe I wont eat steak as much. least I can u

Ahnimus

I use to say the same thing about bovine flatulence.

However, the oceans contribute much more CO2.

godpt3

jlew24asu wrote:

I'm sure thats probably true. maybe I wont eat steak as much. least I can u

have a nice salad. Just watch out for the e.coli.

jlew24asu

godpt3 wrote:

have a nice salad. Just watch out for the e.coli.

I like salads. steak salads

gue_barium

I know in the American west much of the beef that is raised is more or less free range herefords. America imports copious amounts of beef from around the world.

godpt3

gue_barium wrote:

America imports copious amounts of beef from around the world.

Yep. That's why the beef producers don't want you to know where your meat comes from. Country-of-origin labeling was in the 2002 farm bill, but industry lobbyists have continually managed to delay its implementation. The beef packing industry doesn't want you to know if your steak came from Argentina or not, since most consumers would automatically assume that their beef is "Made in the USA."

gabers

Ahnimus wrote:

However, the oceans contribute much more CO2.

How so? They're the biggest "carbon sink". In other words, they absorb immense amounts of CO2. Here's a link:

http://www.environmentalsciences.homestead.com/carbonsinks.html

RolandTD20Kdrummer

Aren't the red meat links to cancer fairly substantial?

Kel Varnsen

MrSmith wrote:

These problems are really just symptoms of human overpopulation.

Until someone solves the problem of there being too many people on the planet, all of these problems are irrelevent.

If only there was some way to warm up the entire world so that the cold northern parts could become more livable.

gabers

Kel Varnsen wrote:

If only there was some way to warm up the entire world so that the cold northern parts could become more livable.

Are you joking? Have you heard anything about global warming in the news? The "cold northern parts" will most likely see the most dramatic warming. Do a little research. Polar bears are running out of habitat.

Ahnimus

gabers wrote:

How so? They're the biggest "carbon sink". In other words, they absorb immense amounts of CO2. Here's a link:

http://www.environmentalsciences.homestead.com/carbonsinks.html

It's kind of like the bogs that release carbon when the temperature rises. As the temp rises the ocean evaporates more carbon. I'm pretty sure I read this on the EPA but I can't find it now, so discredit it.

Truthmonger

godpt3 wrote:

The real question is, why isn't anybody working to do more population control in Africa? Not only do you reduce poverty and hunger, you also reduce the production of greenhouse gasses.

The continent of Africa produces very little pollution given its population. Its places like N. America, Asia and Europe that are creating much of the pollution.

MahoganySouls

Don't forget the methane gas emitted from land fill dumps. As all the millions of tons of garbage we produce decomposes, it poisons the air we breathe.