You reckon most of the methane from cows comes from farting rather than bubbling out of their poos on the ground?
I believe that is the case, although that is my opinion, not a proven fact (AFAIK). That said, one of my uncles collects his cattle manure and ferments it to extract additional methane, which is stored and used to heat his barns in the winter. I don't think that would happen on the open fields as the manure would be exposed to O2.
That's a pity because Nightwalkery's post gave the idea of doing something with the manuer to prevent the methane release.
The idea isn't without merit, however a lot of cows methane is released as burps (not farts, which form in the intestine).
Haha that rice production thing sticks it to the greenies
Maybe it's just me but I seem to notice that environmentalists are always wanting to make changes that end up backfiring:
Of course, because they often have other goals in mind and use enviro as cover. Pro-vegetarian groups, animal "rights" groups, anti-large business groups, etc, all hide under the guise of the environment.
Biofuel - oops, many killed by 2008 food price problem.
Biofuels not made from food = good idea. Biofuels made from food = stupid. Give me cellulose ethanol, gasified garbage and photosynthetic biodiesel. The only thing corn should be fermented into is sour-mash whiskey.
Don't buy imported food - but locally produced food can be worse for the environment due to unsuitable local climate.
I saw an interesting show on this topic - turns out in many cases less GHG's are released by putting large amounts of food on ships/planes and sending it around the planet, than is released by thousands of small trucks carrying small amounts of local foods to local markets.
That said, I like local foods, as it supports local farmers...
Bryan
