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Aug 28, 2008

This excerp from our website is shared in the spirit of offering environmental solutions within one presidential term. Anything else is just talk.

"Manure Happens. The Power of Poop
A Green House Gas Turns Renewable Energy. "

Did you know that emissions were not only limited to cars, trucks, planes, trains, boats, industrial buildings and electric plants? Well they are not, and carbon dioxide (CO2) is not the only greenhouse gas (GHG). However, today's political rhetoric could easily have you think otherwise. Carbon dioxide is not the main contributor to our rising global temperature either. The fact is that agricultural waste; a.k.a. poop (among other sources), produces emissions too and they are of a different and more lethal variety known as methane.


Methane has been found to have up to twenty-one times the impact on Earth that carbon dioxide does and trees will do not process it. Methane is produced by poop, fossil fuels, agriculture (which is usually manure/poop sprayed on a field before planting), landfills, from the natural process of marsh areas, and is also trapped within glacial ice which is now melting. With over 1.5 billion cows and 2.2 billion other livestock worldwide, methane emissions reach approximately 94 teragrams (Tg=one million tons) annually. This equates to about 18% of the methane added into Earth’s atmosphere each year. Some of this has been discovered to be from livestock burping and farting, but much of it if from their poop; and that is just one methane source. Cows that are fed corn and grains, instead of their original diet of grass, clover and other ground cover, will produce more methane in their manure.

Why aren’t politicians talking about methane? Perhaps they fear that to utter this fact to the public would infer that people should stop eating meat, drinking milk and that the raising of livestock should be abandoned. For all of the vegetarians and vegans out there who would love to see the day, I regret that is not about to happen.

Humans are omnivores and rely greatly on the food from cows and other livestock for nourishment and health. For many of us, if it tastes good, we will eat it; that is our freedom of choice. Can you imagine what life would be like without these animals? Many cannot and this will not change. Why should it?

The question really should be;
What can we do with the methane emissions from manure?....

To view the full article please visit Earth College.
Visibility: Everyone
Posted: Thursday August 28, 2008, 10:16 am
Tags: energy oil clean president new hope election renewable politics policy administration methane greenhouse gases alternatives direction addiciton [add/edit tags]

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David Vandenburgh (0)
Tuesday March 17, 2009, 1:56 pm
Well, I can think of one thing we could (and in my opinion, should) do: We who live in the developed world with abundant food should become vegetarians. Why shouldn't it change, is my question?

Lyra J. (78)
Tuesday March 31, 2009, 6:31 pm
Dear David,

I don't believe that I ever said that it shouldn't change. It is just that, in my experience, people do not like to be told that they can not eat something that they like. This interferes with their understanding of free will and all. Do not get me wrong, people should cut down and in many cases eliminate meat from their diet, however, there are those who can not live on a vegitarian diet due to their blood type and other health considerations. Also, vegetarians eat eggs, milk, yogurt, cheese, ice cream and other dairy products. This doesn't harm the cows and provides easy to digest calcium. Children are especially in need of calcium and will not always opt. for the vegan diet.

One thought that comes to mind is to feed the cows their main natural food requirements, which do not include corn and barley, and other grains which have been mass produced for their consumption. These dietary additives are included because cows produce more milk and get fat faster. The cow industry does not really consider that this diet is not normal for a cow and causes over-flatulance. Even now, they want to add fish oil to their diet instead of changing it.

I totally agree that humans should not eat as much meat as many include in their diet, and would go so far as to agree with you that a majority of our country should become vegetarian, if for no other reason than that it is, oveall, a far healthier diet.

I have meet people who eat meat at every meal of the day! This is in complete excess, however, until recently, the Food and Drug Administration said that you need to eat large portions of meat every day. Now they are changing their tune.

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