New Enemy in Climate Fight: Methane-Heavy Sheep Burps

Fears that methane curb could ruin farms

(NEWSER) - In its quest to be the first carbon-neutral country, New Zealand is cracking down on methane emissions--and that means regulating the gas released by livestock, the Los Angeles Times reports. Farmers are worried a government proposal to fine them if their livestock exceed greenhouse-gas limits could leave many bankrupt—a particular problem as the world faces a food crisis. More»

Researchers now able to distinguish new, old sources of methane

(NEWSER) - There are huge quantities of methane locked in ice sheets around the world, threatening to speed up climate change as they get released in melting ice. But determining which methane is the ancient kind and which is much younger and hails from, say, plant life that has decayed in lakes hasn't been easy—until now. The BBC reports that researchers have been able to ID the former by logging the ratio of different isotopes of carbon found in the methane molecules. Scientists were then able to test some of the 150,000 sites in Alaska and Greenland where methane is seeping into the atmosphere, and found that some are indeed releasing ancient methane. More»

(NEWSER) - Vermont dairy farmers are changing their cows’ diets in an effort to fight climate change, the AP reports. Milk production accounts for 2% of the country’s greenhouse gases, the vast majority of which comes from the methane-rich burps of cattle. Now, 16 farms working with Stonyfield Farm Inc. are feeding their cows a gas-reducing mix of flaxseed, alfalfa, and grasses instead of soy and corn. More»

Billions of tons of strong greenhouse gas lie on ocean floor

(NEWSER) - Climate scientists meeting this week in Vienna are contemplating a terrible prospect—the release of billions of tons of methane gas from the Arctic Ocean, Der Spiegel reports. Methane, 20 times more damaging to the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, lies frozen in gas hydrates on the ocean floor, but rising global temperatures are loosening the ice’s grip. More»

Carnivores rejoice: a new pill makes beef more environment friendly

(NEWSER) - Who knew that bovine burping was a major source of methane gas and hence global warming? German scientists, that's who, and they've come up with a fist-sized pill to reduce it, along with the 4% of greenhouse gas emissions for which it is responsible. More»