Burps, farts, and other crazy emissions from livestock a major source of greenhouse gases

Articles — By forcechange on December 4, 2008 9:48 am

NYT’s Elisabeth Rosenthal has a good article about greenhouse gas emissions from global agriculture.  As we’ve noted, the debate over livestock emissions is heating up in the US as the EPA considers a regulation scheme.  But even as US farmers gear up for a fight, there are indications from around the world that this is a major problem that must be addressed. 

Because of increasing worldwide affluence, millions of people who have lived mostly on less expensive grains are now able to add meat to their diets.  And those in the developing world are, of course, continuing to consume large amounts of meat. 

This is an environmental nightmare, since according to the UN, activities relating to the production of livestock account for 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions.  This is more than that released by cars, buses, and airplanes.

In big livestock countries like Brazil, Australia and New Zealand, agriculture accounts for over 50% of their total emissions.  In the US, that number is only 7.4% as of 2006, but this is merely because we generate relatively so many more emissions from other sources like transportation, industry, and energy generation. 

Emissions created from agricultural activities are extensive and range from the destruction of rain forests to make way for pastures and farmland to feed the livestock to flatulence and burping of methane, which is 25 times more effective a greenhouse gas than CO2.

How this massive environmental problem will be dealt with is one of the issues being discussed by the UN Climate Change Conference in Poznan, Poland this week.  Some of the potential solutions include:

Methane capture, whereby methane is removed from manure and then used to generate electricity;

Creating a feed that will make cows burp and fart less methane;

Tilling manure under the soil instead of laying it on top, so that less methane is released into the air.

Additionally, a cap-and-trade system could also be effective.  New Zealand is already planning on introducing such a scheme by 2013.  And in the US, the EPA is currently considering a livestock fee.

Whether these plans are effective or not will likely depend on if a global consensus can be reached.  If not, any emissions decreased by certain countries under a regulatory scheme could easily be replaced by increased emissions from unregulated nations.  Fortunately, it looks like the US may be joining the global efforts as more than just an observer this time.  A key will be bringing the rest of the world along. 

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