In our struggle to deal with the many gases we produce, we are now examining everything we do. In New Zealand, a country with a population of 4 million, it is not the people who are the problem but the 40 million sheep, 9 million beef and dairy cattle and more than 1 million farmed deer, all producing the methane that many climate scientists say is one of the worst culprits behind global warming. These animals have evolved into animals much like us who burp and break wind. Methane is 23 times more powerful by weight in warming the atmosphere than carbon dioxide.
Livestock farmers, long among the country's major export earners are worried. They say the cost of fighting greenhouse gases could drive many into bankruptcy and they feel they are being singled out because New Zealand has few big industrial polluters.
A team of New Zealand scientists back by millions of dollars from the farm industry and government, are conducting world-leading research into possible solutions, including genetic engineering, cloning and a vaccine for gassy animals.
If researchers in labs discover the secret to making livestock less belchy and flatulent, they could help make billions of farm animals around the world more environmentally friendly.
I guess that this is another argument for becoming vegetarians. Wonder if scientists will start examining the impact of human flatulence on the environment?
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Scientists should investigate the harmful effects of all the hot air spouted by bleeding heart do gooder liberals who want to penalise the dairy industry just because cows cause climate change! The cows can't help it that their burps contain methane. It's just not fair.
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