This is RTS for Friday, July 20, 2007

WHAT A GAS: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations names this group as one of the top two or three most
significant contributors to the problem of global warming.

Cars? Trucks? Factories?

Nope. The culprits are gassy cows.

That’s the word from some recent studies showing each belch from
a cow has 21 times as much global-warming potential as a molecule
of CO2 from the usual suspects, i.e., vehicles and factories.

Apparently, the results from these studies show bovine burps
aren’t just a lot of hot air.

One report, for example, showed California cows were producing
almost 20 pounds of gas yearly.

Another study shows cows are responsible for 19 percent of the
world’s greenhouse gas problem.

The answer, the experts say, may lie in the cows’ diet. Steers
who eat high-quality alfalfa grass or clover emit half as much
methane gas as do those grazing on grass-only pastures.

Another method of reducing “gas” emissions in half is to rotate
where the cows graze – and even add a percentage of canola oil to
cattle rations.

Some experts are even looking into adding garlic to the cattle
feed, which brings up new problems. Sure, it gives the cows bad
breath, but it could also taint the milk or meat.

Methane – the hardly silent, but possibly deadly, gas that
causes flatulence – comes from the breakdown of organic matter in
the rumen, the first part of the cow’s stomach that collects the
food before it’s returned to the mouth as cud for chewing. Bacteria
in the gut break down the grass as part of the digestive process.
This “ruminating” causes the cow to belch, which, in turn produces
the methane.

Some vegetarians are saying this only shows that people should
reduce their meat-eating, which would reduce the number of
livestock – and hence the eructations (that’s a fancy word for
belches).

After all the sides weigh in, the answer, at this point, may
well be blowing in the wind.

In the meantime, don’t blame Bessie for rising sea levels,
hurricanes and weird weather patterns. Nor would it be fair to make
her “squelch a belch” when we humans are guilty of being gas hogs,
too.

Besides, unlike humans who demand bigger and more powerful
vehicles and 24-hour air conditioning, cows are, at least, just
doing what comes naturally – and have done since the beginning of
time.