Given the previous interest in the list on the contribution of sheep and cows to greenhouse gases, I thought it my comradely duty to relay the following.
Bill Motoring to Kyoto - on a tank full of cow Press 2 May 02, p.2 (Christchurch, New Zealand) Belching and farting are considered the height of bad manners in most social circles - but they could be a major boost for the family budget. Experts say regurgitation by cows, sheep and deer, produces one hell of a lot of methane - and that could be used to power the family car if only it could be harnessed. The average dairy cow produces about 90kg of methane a year, which is equivalent in energy to 120 litres of petrol. Sheep produce only about a tenth of this, but there are a lot more of them. Agricultural scientists say for a 200-cow dairy herd, the petrol equivalent to its methane emissions is 24,000 litres a year, enough to drive the family car 200,000km. Yesterday, the Government proposed a "carbon tax" to meet its obligations under the Kyoto protocol to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, but said it would exempt farmers from tax on methane emissions from belching livestock. Because farmers had no way to reduce methane from deer, sheep, and cattle, they would instead be expected to help fund research on cutting methane and nitrous oxide emissions, at a level equivalent to 20c a sheep. Agresearch scientists Gamy Waghorn and Michael Tavendale said grasslands scientists already working on the problem had proved for the first time condensed tannins found in some pasture species can directly reduce methane emissions by as much as 16 per cent. Research on reducing methane emissions is following three main pathways - changing animals' feed to fodder more easily digested, using a vaccine or spray to alter the stomach organisms to better help animals digest their feed, and breeding to find animals that are naturally more efficient digesters. -NZPA
