No, Vox, Measuring Burps and Farts Will Not Save the Planet
By
Linnea Lueken
December 6, 2024
0
A recent article at Vox, titled “Scientists are measuring burps and farts. It could help save the planet,” claims that methane produced by farm animals is causing dangerous global warming, and thus that reducing agriculture-related methane is critical to limiting warming to the 1.5°C target established for political ends in the 2015 Paris climate agreement. This is false. Animal related methane is not a threat to the environment, contributing little if anything to global warming.
The article primarily references research efforts by scientists in Columbia who measured the amount of methane different farm animals produce in their burps and gas depending on what kind of forage they eat, in order to determine the feed that will produce the least methane. Animals are placed in chambers and their emissions are monitored.
Vox writes:
These chambers are part of a multiyear project to lower the amount of methane produced by farm animals. This is important. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, responsible for roughly 20 to 30 percent of global warming since the Industrial Revolution. The bulk of global methane emissions stem from human activities, and the largest single source among them is agriculture — namely, the burps of ruminant animals such as cattle, goats, and sheep, as well as their manure.
https://climaterealism.com/2024/12/no-vox-measuring-burps-and-farts-will-not-save-the-planet/
