Omaha Steve (705 posts) October 30, 2016 at 1:23 pm
How to Stop Farts From Warming the Planet: Feed Cows Seaweed
Livestock accounts for 5 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. Now scientists discover seaweed dramatically reduces methane in animal burps and farts.
OCT 25, 2016· 3 MIN READ· David Kirby has been a professional journalist for 25 years. His third book, Death at Seaworld, was published in 2012.
Talk about magic seaweed: A single type of red seaweed could cut greenhouse gas emissions, fight ocean acidification, remove invasive species, restore fisheries, and help coastal economies around the world.
Researchers in Australia have discovered that the seaweed, Asparagopsis taxiformis, when mixed into livestock feed in small amounts, reduced methane emissions from sheep by up to 80 percent.
Livestock emit methane mostly through burping, while farts and manure also contribute to the total. The animals are estimated to generate 44 percent of all human-related methane, which has up to 36 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide.
For the last few years, scientists have explored the use of seaweed additives to reduce methane emissions from livestock, with only modest results. A study published last year found a 16 percent reduction using one type of seaweed.
FULL story: http://www.takepart.com/article/2016/10/25/solution-planet-warming-cow-farts-seaweed?cmpid=tpdaily-eml-2016-10-25