Cows are killing the planet!!

[kayak4life]

Now ive heard it all. I heard from someone that the big man is wanting to tax cattle farmers per cow because of the greenhouse gasses they let off when they fart and take a crap. Anyone else know of this? Or can i say this is as much b.s as looking for that da#m woodpecker.

[coolhand]

I have heard about people saying that they let out greenhouse gases when they fart and that is a contributing part to glodal warming. I don't beleave that. There have been animals on this planet for ever and they all fart and crap. So if it is true than there is no reason to only tax cow hearders.they should also tax chicken farmer and all outher livestock farmers. I think that it is B.S. personaly.

[GaryPaladino]

Unfortunately, it appears global warming has more to do with cows, chickens, and human waste products than it does with cars. For some reason the cars get the bad rap though.

http://www.epa.gov/methane/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Check the link on "sources". Also, note that it is a much more effective greenhouse gas than CO2 which is the only gas that makes the news.

(Actually, I think the whole thing is a plot by the vegetarians to force us to their ways..... )

[Steve S]

Thomas Friedman, in his new book Hot, Flat and Crowded, goes into great detail about the extent to which cows contribute to global warming with their burping and farting.

[randominsects]

I think that it is B.S. personaly.

ha..it is b.s. literally that is the point!

[Drifter]

Over 400 prominent scientists say it's BS as well.

http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm? ... nateReport" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

(Actually, I think the whole thing is a plot by the vegetarians to force us to their ways..... )

Wait a minute, beans are vegetables, right?

[Clif]

Do you think there are more cows than there were elk, buffalo, moose, etc... back before we decided it was good to cut more than half the trees on our continent and replace it with gravel and concrete?

[coolhand]

If we were to plant back half of the trees that have been cut bown over the decades than there would be less CO2 in the atmosphere thus slowing down "Global Warming".

[Cowper]

Well, it's not really fair to blame the cows, regardless of what you believe. It has a lot more to do with the 6.7 billion people, a number which far exceeds anything this planet has ever seen before; the cows are just a by-product of our attempts to feed ourselves, and, are playing into the equation more as underdeveloped countries become more industrialized and increase their meat consumption.

Hey, let's do some math. 6.7 billion
Say 1% are scientists, loosely defined as including all the fields that were listed in the referenced report
Say 1% of the scientists are "prominent"
Say 1% of the scientists are weighing in on this particular issue (the other 99% are too busy doing other science-stuff)
That would leave me with 400 scientists that don't think man is causing the problem; and 6700 that think we are.
Last time I checked, if almost 19 out of 20 folks are on one side of an issue, we would call that a very strong consensus opinion.

Re: Number of Cows, vs. Buffalo, elk, etc - too close to call.
"There are no accurate figures for the number of buffalo then but anthropologists have put the figure between 30 and 60 million animals."
Number of cows in US: ~400 million
But I don't have counts for elk, deer, etc
I second the motion, let's replant a few trees just to be on the safe side.

[DeBo]

Steven Chu, Nobel Prize winning scientist and soon to be our new secretary of energy, is director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif., and is a leading advocate of reducing greenhouse gases by developing new energy sources.

I'm glad he's in charge!

Here's the rest of the article:

The selection of Chu, a Chinese American who shared a Nobel Prize for physics in 1997, received widespread praise on Capitol Hill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said he looked forward to"confirming Dr. Chu as quickly as possible."

"His appointment should send a signal to all that my administration will value science. We will make decisions based on the facts, and we understand that facts demand bold action," Obama said at a news conference in Chicago.

Obama made clear he plans take energy policy in a sharply different direction from President Bush, promising aggressive moves to address global warming and support research into alternative energy sources such as wind, solar and biofuels.

"America must develop new forms of energy and new ways of using it,"he said.

Obama said the dangers of being too heavily dependent on foreign oil "are eclipsed only by the long-term threat of climate change which, unless we act, will lead to drought and famine abroad, devastating weather patterns and terrible storms on our shores, and disappearance of our coastline at home."

In brief remarks, Chu said: "What the world does in the coming decade will have enormous consequences that will last for centuries. It's imperative that we begin without further delay." He said Obama had "set the tone and pace for moving our country forward with optimism and calm determination. I hope to emulate his example."

Information for this article was contributed by Liz Sidoti of The Associated Press.

[Drifter]

Hey, let's do some math. 6.7 billion
Say 1% are scientists, loosely defined as including all the fields that were listed in the referenced report
Say 1% of the scientists are "prominent"
Say 1% of the scientists are weighing in on this particular issue (the other 99% are too busy doing other science-stuff)
That would leave me with 400 scientists that don't think man is causing the problem; and 6700 that think we are.
Last time I checked, if almost 19 out of 20 folks are on one side of an issue, we would call that a very strong consensus opinion.

:roll:

Questionable "math" without a doubt. Not only is there no strong consensus, there is no "consensus" at all.

U. S. Senate Minority Report:
More Than 650 International Scientists Dissent Over Man-Made Global Warming Claims

Scientists Continue to Debunk “Consensus” in 2008

Update: December 22, 2008: 11 More Scientists Join Senate Report

INTRODUCTION:

Over 650 dissenting scientists from around the globe challenged man-made global warming claims made by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and former Vice President Al Gore. This new 231-page U.S. Senate Minority Report -- updated from 2007’s groundbreaking report of over 400 scientists who voiced skepticism about the so-called global warming “consensus” -- features the skeptical voices of over 650 prominent international scientists, including many current and former UN IPCC scientists, who have now turned against the UN IPCC. This updated report includes an additional 250 (and growing) scientists and climate researchers since the initial release in December 2007. The over 650 dissenting scientists are more than 12 times the number of UN scientists (52) who authored the media-hyped IPCC 2007 Summary for Policymakers. Source

[okieboater]

My opinion here, Like most of the stuff coming out of Washington DC these days, political plans to take care of global warming is mostly lies with a bit of truth there if you search for it.

Just seems like the right thing to clean up the planet. Also seems like the right thing to not shut down the economy in the process.

Bottom line, there has to be a reasonable way to help clean up our planet that takes care of people and the planet.

I am a lot more worried about the black smoke coming out of our smoke stacks, the stuff coming out of our factories that make our streams undrinkable and the mine run offs that do the same ---- than I am about a bunch of cows breaking wind.

Merry Christmas to all, Happy New Year to all and please pray or give good thoughts for our country to get over the financial madness we are now experiencing.

[JTarver]

Here is some interesting news. I saw this the other night. Cows do produce methane when they exhale rectally....but....more of a problem of emissions than rampant bovine flatulence...termites.

They produce much more gas per termite per body weight than cattle..and they drawf the number of butt-curping cows by a significantly large margin.

I don't have time to post links currently, but when I come across another good one I shall....unless someone beats me to it.

You know, someone with more time to "fart around " on the internet.

Merry Christmas!

Joe

[Drifter]

Global Warming Groupthink:

'How many fingers am I holding up, Winston?'

'Four.'

'And if the party says that it is not four but five -- then how many?'

'Four.'

The word ended in a gasp of pain. The needle of the dial had shot up to fifty-five. The sweat had sprung out all over Winston's body. The air tore into his lungs and issued again in deep groans which even by clenching his teeth he could not stop. O'Brien watched him, the four fingers still extended. He drew back the lever. This time the pain was only slightly eased.

'How many fingers, Winston?'

'Four.'

The needle went up to sixty.

'How many fingers, Winston?'

'Four! Four! What else can I say? Four!'

The needle must have risen again, but he did not look at it. The heavy, stern face and the four fingers filled his vision. The fingers stood up before his eyes like pillars, enormous, blurry, and seeming to vibrate, but unmistakably four.

'How many fingers, Winston?'

'Four! Stop it, stop it! How can you go on? Four! Four!'

'How many fingers, Winston?'

'Five! Five! Five!'

'No, Winston, that is no use. You are lying. You still think there are four. How many fingers, please?'

'Four! five! Four! Anything you like. Only stop it, stop the pain!'

Abruptly he was sitting up with O'Brien's arm round his shoulders. He had perhaps lost consciousness for a few seconds. The bonds that had held his body down were loosened. He felt very cold, he was shaking uncontrollably, his teeth were chattering, the tears were rolling down his cheeks. For a moment he clung to O'Brien like a baby, curiously comforted by the heavy arm round his shoulders. He had the feeling that O'Brien was his protector, that the pain was something that came from outside, from some other source, and that it was O'Brien who would save him from it.

'You are a slow learner, Winston,' said O'Brien gently.

'How can I help it?' he blubbered. 'How can I help seeing what is in front of my eyes? Two and two are four.'

'Sometimes, Winston. Sometimes they are five. Sometimes they are three. Sometimes they are all of them at once. You must try harder. It is not easy to become sane.'

George Orwell - 1984

[ljasonl]

Do you think there are more cows than there were elk, buffalo, moose, etc... back before we decided it was good to cut more than half the trees on our continent and replace it with gravel and concrete?

Were the elk, buffalo, and moose living in high density farms, and fed by mass produced grain?
The issue isn't that farting animals exist, it's that they exist in greater numbers than anything this planet has previously had to cope with, while deforestation is reducing it's ability to cope. And yeah, it's because of us trying to feed ourselves. Cow-fart global warming is a human-induced factor.

Last time I checked, if almost 19 out of 20 folks are on one side of an issue, we would call that a very strong consensus opinion.

And 19/20 is an understatement.

The 'debate' about AGW is a political and public one, the science is pretty clear. It's a lot like a few years back when the tobacco companies pressured and paid for the appearance of a debate in the public eye over whether nicotene was addictive, when the science was solid.

Here's an easy to understand article: 'How we know anthropogenic global warming is real'
http://www.skeptic.com/the_magazine/fea ... hange.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;