tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8441439.post8577511316782020001..comments2023-11-19T17:31:49.939+00:00Comments on Bristling Badger: cows as biomassUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8441439.post-32288477838949572642007-09-08T04:12:00.000+01:002007-09-08T04:12:00.000+01:00Hi jungle,your points are all reasonable ideas, bu...Hi jungle,<BR/><BR/>your points are all reasonable ideas, but I'm afraid livestock are very much a big climate problem.<BR/><BR/>The grass does indeed absorb CO2 from the atmosphere. But it decays in the digestive system it is without oxygen. This means it produces methane, which is a far more potent greenhouse gas than CO2.<BR/><BR/>The IPCC <A HREF="http://www.grida.no/climate/ipcc_tar/wg1/020.htm" REL="nofollow">say</A> that over 20 years, methane is 62 times worse than CO2; 23 times over a century; over 500 years, 7 times worse. [the figure changes because methane breaks down faster than CO2]<BR/><BR/>Who said anything about livestock being Chinese? The Chinese diet is nothing like as beef and dairy heavy as the American or European one.<BR/><BR/>Oh, and it seems as if it might not be the rear end that emits much of the methane; recent research shows it's probably oral.<BR/><BR/>I go into the climate impact of meat in more detail <A HREF="http://www.thesharpener.net/2007/06/06/the-carbon-cost-of-meat/" REL="nofollow">here</A>merrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10959849087751101034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8441439.post-60629059296105651232007-08-26T10:39:00.000+01:002007-08-26T10:39:00.000+01:00I know this is an old post, but I just I should dr...I know this is an old post, but I just I should draw your attention to something.<BR/><BR/>The cows producing methane story is a little disingenuous - which is why it's used by climate change deniers all the time to shift the blame from humans onto Chinese livestock.<BR/><BR/>1) Cows release methane into the atmosphere... but<BR/>2) Cows produce methane from carbon obtained by digesting grass... and<BR/>3) Grass grows by extracting carbon in the form of CO2 from the atmosphere.<BR/><BR/>If you think about it, this is common sense. The grass is not using any fossil fuel, and neither is the cow. The cow is theoretically carbon neutral, assuming it's fed on grass.<BR/><BR/>That's not to say it's ideal: there's clearly an issue there with the conversion of CO2 to methane (as well the conversion of acreage from forest to grass - and the farm machinery). I don't know if there's any way of assessing the exact impact per cow, but clearly cows aren't quite as bad as the emissions from their rear end would initially suggest.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8441439.post-32973825319921559442007-06-19T23:48:00.000+01:002007-06-19T23:48:00.000+01:00Well OK, if that's your reason. Personally, if I w...Well OK, if that's your reason. <BR/><BR/>Personally, if I was averse to animals then I'd think twice about rubbing myself against the inside of their skin.<BR/><BR/>Mind you, I did have a friend who was veggie except for pig products. He felt compassion for the animals, but fuckin hated pigs and saw eating ham and bacon as a gleeful act of vengeance. Takes all sorts.merrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10959849087751101034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8441439.post-45957084929325815702007-06-19T20:05:00.000+01:002007-06-19T20:05:00.000+01:00Because you might not like animals and wish to rem...Because you might not like animals and wish to remain uncontaminated by them.Simon Hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10679696163078750931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8441439.post-40650924046364690412007-06-15T11:42:00.000+01:002007-06-15T11:42:00.000+01:00Simon, apart from allergy, why would any reason to...Simon, apart from allergy, why would any reason to be veggie proscribe meat but allow leather?merrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10959849087751101034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8441439.post-23997953989017259672007-06-14T16:42:00.000+01:002007-06-14T16:42:00.000+01:00Your quip about vegetarians and leather assumes th...Your quip about vegetarians and leather assumes that all vegetarians are such because they're against the killing of animals. Personally I have no problem with leather, just so long as I don't have to eat it.Simon Hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10679696163078750931noreply@blogger.com