Cow 'emissions' more damaging to planet than CO2 from cars

[MDM4AU 332]

Cow 'emissions' more damaging to planet than CO2 from cars

By Geoffrey Lean, Environment Editor

Published: 10 December 2006

Meet the world's top destroyer of the environment. It is not the car, or the plane,or even George Bush: it is the cow.

A United Nations report has identified the world's rapidly growing herds of cattle as the greatest threat to the climate, forests and wildlife. And they are blamed for a host of other environmental crimes, from acid rain to the introduction of alien species, from producing deserts to creating dead zones in the oceans, from poisoning rivers and drinking water to destroying coral reefs.

The 400-page report by the Food and Agricultural Organisation, entitled Livestock's Long Shadow, also surveys the damage done by sheep, chickens, pigs and goats. But in almost every case, the world's 1.5 billion cattle are most to blame. Livestock are responsible for 18 per cent of the greenhouse gases that cause global warming, more than cars, planes and all other forms of transport put together.

Burning fuel to produce fertiliser to grow feed, to produce meat and to transport it - and clearing vegetation for grazing - produces 9 per cent of all emissions of carbon dioxide, the most common greenhouse gas. And their wind and manure emit more than one third of emissions of another, methane, which warms the world 20 times faster than carbon dioxide.

Livestock also produces more than 100 other polluting gases, including more than two-thirds of the world's emissions of ammonia, one of the main causes of acid rain.

Ranching, the report adds, is "the major driver of deforestation" worldwide, and overgrazing is turning a fifth of all pastures and ranges into desert.Cows also soak up vast amounts of water: it takes a staggering 990 litres of water to produce one litre of milk.

Wastes from feedlots and fertilisers used to grow their feed overnourish water, causing weeds to choke all other life. And the pesticides, antibiotics and hormones used to treat them get into drinking water and endanger human health.

The pollution washes down to the sea, killing coral reefs and creating "dead zones" devoid of life. One is up to 21,000sqkm, in the Gulf of Mexico, where much of the waste from US beef production is carried down the Mississippi.

The report concludes that, unless drastic changes are made, the massive damage done by livestock will more than double by 2050, as demand for meat increases.

Meet the world's top destroyer of the environment. It is not the car, or the plane,or even George Bush: it is the cow.

A United Nations report has identified the world's rapidly growing herds of cattle as the greatest threat to the climate, forests and wildlife. And they are blamed for a host of other environmental crimes, from acid rain to the introduction of alien species, from producing deserts to creating dead zones in the oceans, from poisoning rivers and drinking water to destroying coral reefs.

The 400-page report by the Food and Agricultural Organisation, entitled Livestock's Long Shadow, also surveys the damage done by sheep, chickens, pigs and goats. But in almost every case, the world's 1.5 billion cattle are most to blame. Livestock are responsible for 18 per cent of the greenhouse gases that cause global warming, more than cars, planes and all other forms of transport put together.

Burning fuel to produce fertiliser to grow feed, to produce meat and to transport it - and clearing vegetation for grazing - produces 9 per cent of all emissions of carbon dioxide, the most common greenhouse gas. And their wind and manure emit more than one third of emissions of another, methane, which warms the world 20 times faster than carbon dioxide.

Livestock also produces more than 100 other polluting gases, including more than two-thirds of the world's emissions of ammonia, one of the main causes of acid rain.

Ranching, the report adds, is "the major driver of deforestation" worldwide, and overgrazing is turning a fifth of all pastures and ranges into desert.Cows also soak up vast amounts of water: it takes a staggering 990 litres of water to produce one litre of milk.

Wastes from feedlots and fertilisers used to grow their feed overnourish water, causing weeds to choke all other life. And the pesticides, antibiotics and hormones used to treat them get into drinking water and endanger human health.

The pollution washes down to the sea, killing coral reefs and creating "dead zones" devoid of life. One is up to 21,000sqkm, in the Gulf of Mexico, where much of the waste from US beef production is carried down the Mississippi.

The report concludes that, unless drastic changes are made, the massive damage done by livestock will more than double by 2050, as demand for meat increases.

http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article2062484.ece

[TexasTiger 12,960]

That's only the bean eating cows you have to worry about.

[Tigermike 3,039]

This brings up a disquieting dilemma for environmental whacko PETA members. If they get their way and no animals are eaten, the animal population will increase and the destruction of the planet will occur at an even faster pace. But if all those environmental polluting cows are eaten, environmental degradation will decrease and the world will be a much happier place.

Decisions, decisions what's a environmental whacko PETA member to do?

Wait a minute,,,,,,,,,, there are lots and lots of cows in Texas,,,,,,,,, TexasTiger is in Texas,,,,,,,, that explains it,,,,,,, his brain has been corroded by cow farts.

[Tiger in Spain 0]

To quote the great Ron White.

"What are you doing to help save the environment Ron?"

"I'm eating the cows........but I'm only one man."

[otterinbham 0]

Oh, fart. There goes the environment.

[AURaptor 1,125]

What a load of $hit!

[TexasTiger 12,960]

Wait a minute,,,,,,,,,, there are lots and lots of cows in Texas,,,,,,,,, TexasTiger is in Texas,,,,,,,, that explains it,,,,,,, his brain has been corroded by cow farts.

An Auburn man making derogatory cow references? What's next? Calling Auburn a Cow College?

[quietfan 233]

Don't blame the cows. It's the humans that clear the rainforests, turn agriculture into a "petroleum-to-food" manufacturing industry, ignore organic/environmental friendly farming practices, choose increasingly unhealthy meat-dominated diets, and refuse to practice rational contraceptive population control. Cow farts are only one small piece of the puzzle.

Don't get me wrong, I love my occasional steak and hamburger, but as a species our population and dietary practices are far from environmentally friendly.