Re: [Biofuel] Eating animals is making us sick - CNN.com

[Keith Addison]

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

The Carnivore's Dilemma

By NICOLETTE HAHN NIMAN

Published: October 30, 2009

Bolinas, Calif.

IS eating a hamburger the global warming equivalent of driving a 
Hummer? This week an article in The Times of London carried a 
headline that blared: "Give Up Meat to Save the Planet." 
 
Former Vice President Al Gore, who has made climate change his 
signature issue, has even been assailed for omnivorous eating by 
animal rights activists.

It's true that food production is an important contributor to climate 
change. And the claim that meat (especially beef) is closely linked 
to global warming has received some credible backing, including by 
the United Nations and University of Chicago. Both institutions have 
issued reports that have been widely summarized as condemning 
meat-eating.

But that's an overly simplistic conclusion to draw from the research. 
To a rancher like me, who raises cattle, goats and turkeys the 
traditional way (on grass), the studies show only that the prevailing 
methods of producing meat - that is, crowding animals together in 
factory farms, storing their waste in giant lagoons and cutting down 
forests to grow crops to feed them - cause substantial greenhouse 
gases. It could be, in fact, that a conscientious meat eater may have 
a more environmentally friendly diet than your average vegetarian.

So what is the real story of meat's connection to global warming? 
Answering the question requires examining the individual greenhouse 
gases involved: carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxides.

Carbon dioxide makes up the majority of agriculture-related 
greenhouse emissions. In American farming, most carbon dioxide 
emissions come from fuel burned to operate vehicles and equipment. 
World agricultural carbon emissions, on the other hand, result 
primarily from the clearing of woods for crop growing and livestock 
grazing. During the 1990s, tropical deforestation in Brazil, India, 
Indonesia, Sudan and other developing countries caused 15 percent to 
35 percent of annual global fossil fuel emissions.

Much Brazilian deforestation is connected to soybean cultivation. As 
much as 70 percent of areas newly cleared for agriculture in Mato 
Grosso State in Brazil is being used to grow soybeans. Over half of 
Brazil's soy harvest is controlled by a handful of international 
agribusiness companies, which ship it all over the world for animal 
feed and food products, causing emissions in the process.

Meat and dairy eaters need not be part of this. Many smaller, 
traditional farms and ranches in the United States have scant 
connection to carbon dioxide emissions because they keep their 
animals outdoors on pasture and make little use of machinery. 
Moreover, those farmers generally use less soy than industrial 
operations do, and those who do often grow their own, so there are no 
emissions from long-distance transport and zero chance their farms 
contributed to deforestation in the developing world.

In contrast to traditional farms, industrial livestock and poultry 
facilities keep animals in buildings with mechanized systems for 
feeding, lighting, sewage flushing, ventilation, heating and cooling, 
all of which generate emissions. These factory farms are also soy 
guzzlers and acquire much of their feed overseas. You can reduce your 
contribution to carbon dioxide emissions by avoiding industrially 
produced meat and dairy products.

Unfortunately for vegetarians who rely on it for protein, avoiding 
soy from deforested croplands may be more difficult: as the Organic 
Consumers Association notes, Brazilian soy is common (and unlabeled) 
in tofu and soymilk sold in American supermarkets.

Methane is agriculture's second-largest greenhouse gas. Wetland rice 
fields alone account for as much 29 percent of the world's 
human-generated methane. In animal farming, much of the methane comes 
from lagoons of liquefied manure at industrial facilities, which are 
as nauseating as they sound.

This isn't a problem at traditional farms. "Before the 1970s, methane 
emissions from manure were minimal because the majority of livestock 
farms in the U.S. were small operations where animals deposited 
manure in pastures and corrals," the Environmental Protection Agency 
says. The E.P.A. found that with the rapid rise of factory farms, 
liquefied manure systems became the norm and methane emissions 
skyrocketed. You can reduce your methane emissions by seeking out 
meat from animals raised outdoors on traditional farms.

CRITICS of meat-eating often point out that cattle are prime culprits 
in methane production. Fortunately, the cause of these methane 
emissions is understood, and their production can be reduced.

Much of the problem arises when livestock eat poor quality forages, 
throwing their digestive systems out of balance. L

Re: [Biofuel] Amazing pictures - pollution in China

[Chris Burck]

looking at the photos, i was reminded of the documentary _Manufactured
Landscapes_.  amazing stuff, just a *ton* of incredible images, and
the opening sequence is unforgettable.  so is the rest of the film for
that matter.  strongly recommended.  you won't regret it.

___
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Re: [Biofuel] Amazing pictures - pollution in China

[Keith Addison]

>

Local communities have been complaining, protesting and rioting over 
this for at least 20 years that I know of, to not much avail.

Further anti-pollution riots break out in China | Environment ...
2 Sep 2009 ... Two thousand riot police fired tear gas and warning 
shots in Quanzhou, as demonstrators protested against foul stench and 
cancer rates.


Local governments keep Chinese public in the dark about pollution ...
4 Sep 2009 ... Anti pollution riots in Quanzhou, Fujian, China. The 
plant in Fujian, China, whose foul smells led to anti-pollution 
protests in the ...


Xinhua: China sacks officials after pollution riots - Science News ...
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China has sacked or punished senior government 
officials in the country's affluent east over a pollution stand-off 
that turned violent, ... 


Top China lead smelter acknowledges poisoning role
Reuters - Lucy Hornby, Jonathan Leff - Oct 13, 2009
"Mass incidents" -- or riots and protests -- sparked by environmental 
problems have been rising at a rate of 30 percent per year, according 
to China's ...


Appearance of a Legal System in China Misleading, Says Commission
The Epoch Times - Gary Feuerberg - Oct 18, 2009
The worsening air and water pollution may explain the dramatic 
increase in cancer victims-roughly 20 percent since 2005, based on 
PRC official statistics. ...


And so on - what's behind the growth rates. IMHO, if the Chinese 
people had real Internet access Beijing wouldn't be able to hold back 
the protests.

China's All-Seeing Eye
With the help of U.S. defense contractors, China is building the 
prototype for a high-tech police state. It is ready for export.
NAOMI KLEIN, Rolling Stone, May 29, 2008


The Olympics: Unveiling Police State 2.0
by Naomi Klein
The Huffington Post, August 7, 2008


It isn't just a local issue: 
 
(tip of the iceberg).

Meanwhile I often receive stuff like this, just in:

>Date: Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:53:56 -0700
>From: "Marc Merson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Subject: Join a booming China green building market
>
>The 2nd Annual China Eco Expo
>
>   An international Trade show and conference dedicated 
>to the products,
>   technologies, and services, for green building and 
>sustainable cities
> 
>June 3-5, 2010 at the  China International Exhibition Center,
>
>   China Eco Expo is produced in partnership with the PRC 
>Ministry of Housing,
>   Urban and Rural Development (Formally Ministry of 
>Construction) and will be held
>   in conjunction with the Ministry's Official 15th Annual Show.
>
>  China Eco Expo Features:
>
>
>* A professional attendance of over 30,000
>* An extensive matchmaking program
>* A high level conference with a special focus on China's 
>cities and their Mayors
>* A full scale model  Green Office of the future.
>* A comprehensive advertising and promotional campaign.
>  * Access to a booming green building and sustainable cities market
>
>  Our debut show in 2009 was a substantial success, with an 
>attendance of  30,000, visits from
>  high Ministerial officials, widespread media coverage, and 
>promotion as the major feature of
>  the entire event.  See a report 
>
>
> Find out more about this gateway to the world's most exciting 
>green building
> and green cities market  at 
>
> Request more information at. [EMAIL PROTECTED]

:-) Green growth will save them? Or is there more profit in the cheap 
and nasty way? Not much of a bet, eh?

A Better Measure than GDP
TIME - Stephan Faris - Oct 23, 2009
... Starting in 2004, China attempted to introduce a "green GDP," 
adjusted to reflect the cost of pollution. By the time officials 
computed the costs of tainted rivers, smoke-filled skies, shattered 
ecosystems and strip-mined hillsides, their growth figures had 
dropped so dramatically - in some provinces they fell close to zero - 
that the proposal was quickly scrapped. By 2007 the effort had 
collapsed completely.


A different kind of race to the bottom.

Best

Keith