NationStates Jolt Archive

New law sounds full of hot air

BARMY Euro MPs are demanding new laws to stop cows and sheep PARPING.

Their call came after the UN said livestock emissions were a bigger threat to the planet than transport.

The MEPs have asked the European Commission to “look again at the livestock question in direct connection with global warming”.

The official EU declaration demands changes to animals’ diets, to capture gas emissions and recycle manure. They warned: “The livestock sector presents the greatest threat to the planet.” The proposal will be looked at by the 27 member states.

The UN says livestock farming generates 18 per cent of greenhouse gases while transport accounts for 14 per cent.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007190671,00.html

LOL! Ahh taking care of this is going to be uncomfortable for both the farmer and the animal!

I'm doing my part to reduce cow flatulence. *munches on a taco* :)

¿Qué Demonios?

*giggles*

Hey ... share that taco!

The answer may be to take current livestok, and catch released methane in the barn it is kept in, and then use that as a fuel. Methane is the cleanest burning carbon feul, and if burned correctly, barely releases anything.

I'm doing my part to reduce cow flatulence. *munches on a taco* :)

So am I! *bites into a double cheeseburger* :D

The answer may be to take current livestok, and catch released methane in the barn it is kept in,

Yeah, mind if we leave that job to you?

¿Qué Demonios?

*giggles*

Hey ... share that taco!

Why? I have more. *hands you a taco* Save the planet. :)

Why? I have more. *hands you a taco* Save the planet. :)

Huzzah! Al Gore would be proud.

Yeah, mind if we leave that job to you?

Farmers deal with raising the damn things, cleaning their shit, and even mating the damn things. Do you honestly think that a bad smell (that would be there anyway, for many of the animals) is such a bad thing for them?

Besides which, it would provide a whole new source of money to small farmers.

The answer may be to take current livestok, and catch released methane in the barn it is kept in, and then use that as a fuel. Methane is the cleanest burning carbon feul, and if burned correctly, barely releases anything.

Wouldn't you have to pump air in then to keep the cows alive? So expensive. I propose just attaching a lighter on a stick to the back of a cow and therefore lower heating costs through fireballs

This reminds me of a Ron White Routine.

Ron: A buddy of mine who is a vegetarian was telling me one day that cows release dangerous amount of methane into the atmosphere, and that is contributing to Global Warming, and that's why we need to become vegetarian. Then he asked me what I was doing to combat the problem. I told him, I'm eating the fucking cows!

:D

Personally I think methane from animal waste is a solution that's....well it's almost barmy not to use it for energy. Think of the amount of cows McDonald's must get through each and every day (http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/144/).

Having said that I have heard what might be an urban legend but amuses me nonetheless.

To comply with an EPA water contamination regulation, pig farmers have to dispose of their waste in the following manner:

Dig a deep pit and line with plastic. Fill 'er up and cover with a certain amount of dirt.

An unfortunate side effect is that the waste does often seep below the plastic lining, fermenting away and releasing methane, which creates a large bubble of said methane trapped under the plastic.

Given enough waste, the pressure of the bubble becomes such that at some point it explodes, distributing waste around a circumference of up to 1 kilometre.

A sight the inner kid within us all would like to see. Can any pig farmer here confirm this?

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007190671,00.html

LOL! Ahh taking care of this is going to be uncomfortable for both the farmer and the animal!
hint for you, Wil: Don't read the Sun. It's barely above The Weekly World News in terms of journalistic integrity and honesty. However it doesn't have the respect, nor the wit of the WWN.

Livestock do indeed contribute to Global Warming due to their methane emission.
However, the majority of these emissions come from belching, not farting.
Only simple-minded buffoons who write for, and read, the Sun will not bother researching and finding out those pesky things called facts first.

Meh! It's common knowledge that the average politician emits 3X the methane of the average cow.

hint for you, Wil: Don't read the Sun. It's barely above The Weekly World News in terms of journalistic integrity and honesty. However it doesn't have the respect, nor the wit of the WWN.

Livestock do indeed contribute to Global Warming due to their methane emission.
However, the majority of these emissions come from belching, not farting.
Only simple-minded buffoons who write for, and read, the Sun will not bother researching and finding out those pesky things called facts first.

'Burp methane?' I thought, ready to write a scathingly witty reply

But....

Learn something every day (http://archives.cnn.com/2000/NATURE/07/21/cow.methane.enn/).

I don't think we should bother trying to sort out methane problem out because the chinese aren't doing anything to lower their methane emissions, infact it's getting larger and larger as their population grows and grows and requires even more food which mostly comes in the form of rice. Paddy fields emit huge amounts of methane and yet the chinese continue to blissfully pump methane into the atmosphere.

The answer may be to take current livestok, and catch released methane in the barn it is kept in, and then use that as a fuel. Methane is the cleanest burning carbon feul, and if burned correctly, barely releases anything.

barn?

Cows in a pasture don't emit more than Bison or any other large animal that lived on the land for thousands of years. The problem comes in when they are "finished" in a feedlot. The grain adds TDN (total digestible nutrients) and as with any animal on rich food they get gas. Most of the problem is confined to the manure and that is easily controlled.

For over 30 years we have had multiple solutions and at one time manure handling was regulated. But with the election of Reagan all of those regulations went out.

Two solutions that were available 30 years ago:

The manure is pumped into a holding tank and additives (controlled bacteria) are added that form a natural crust. That crust controls emissions. Then the liquid is pumped into fertilizer injectors and the manure is injected several inches below the surface of a field where it is sealed by the earth and naturally breaks down into fertilizer.

2.
The manure is pumped into a tank and a plastic cover is sealed over the tank. Bacteria are injected into the manure that anaerobically releases methane which can then be burned for fuel. That which is left over is then used for fertilizer.

30 years ago these systems were being installed rapidly and would be universal today if the industry hadn't been deregulated in the '80's. The standard today is to dig a pit and line it with plastic. Push the manure in or allow the rain to move it in. When the pit is full it is pumped into a spray fertilizer spreader. This type of spreader simply sprays the fertilizer into the air and it lands on the surface of the ground. Any gases and most of the fertilizer value are lost to the air. This is a cheaper system for the cattle feeder who has no concern for the value of manure which he considers a waste product rather than a valuable byproduct. And since the government has shown no concern for the air water or energy of the nation, why not do it the cheapest?