Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Cows Can Curb Global Warming
I was in a waiting room earlier today and I looked over and saw an article that someone was reading in Time. I noticed that the title had something to do with cows and global warming, so when I got back to the dorms I looked it up and really enjoyed what I read. It doesn't pertain to what we're doing so much at the university (unless the university's considering raising cattle in the near future), but the science is definitely still relevant. Check it out if you get a chance!
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Coming from a Wisconsin farm where our cows are grass-fed, I approve of this message.
ReplyDeleteI am curious to see what consequences this would bring, should greatly increasing the number of grass-fed cows become a trend. While it's great that it's keeping carbon into the ground, but I'm skeptical. We talked about the longevity of carbon in class - I don't know enough about the process to make a claim, but I wonder if the carbon will stay in the earth until it breaks down (if that's the correct term,) or if it will release into the air anyway (perhaps at a slower rate?)
ReplyDeleteIn addition, what would farmers do about increased run-off effects? This is already a big problem with pollution. While it may help carbon numbers, it certainly wouldn't help our rivers (thus the animals, thus our food supplies, etc.)
Maybe our experts in the field know: what would happen to the carbon? Would it "die" in the ground? Would it be released, nonetheless?
Jason, if I remember correctly, you live(d) on a farm. What do you think farmers could do to make sure that potential runoff isn't making matters worse?