Re:Treating beef like coal would make a big dent in greenhou...
by Manuel_D on Friday October 01, 2021 @12:15AM
(#28714462)
> Cow methane is a much worse greenhouse gas than co2, orders of magnitude worse
But it's also released in much lower quantities, and has a much faster half life. Let's be clear: carbon dioxide, not methane, is responsible for the overwhelming majority of long term warming.
Re:Treating beef like coal would make a big dent in greenhou...
by bastiantower on Friday October 01, 2021 @01:06AM
(#28714783)
The point about the extra energy is potentially valid, although it would need data.
Methane being worse than CO2 doesn't change the fact that it's a cycle and thus it's not causing extra warming as long as the amount of animals is constant.
Alternative forests, etc, is equally a one off thing. Keeping the pastures doesn't make anything worse, and reverting them back would only be a one off improvement.
* Cow methane is a much worse greenhouse gas than co2, orders of magnitude worse
* Land that would capture a lot more CO2 and keep water in the environment is chopped down or otherwise destroyed to make pastures, the worst being rainforests.
* Orders of magnitude more water is used to raise cows vs the equivalent calories in plants.