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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: methane

methane stories: 21 news summaries

1 - 20 of 21 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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(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... More »

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climate change • greenhouse gases • gas • Vermont • cows • methane • dairy

 Dairy Teams 
 Seek Greener 
 Cow Burps 

Methane production drops after farms adopt new feed

Jun 5, 09 9:26 AM CDT
(Newser) - Cow belches have been called a bigger environmental threat than cars and trucks—and now dairy groups are taking steps to keep dangerous burps to a minimum, the New York Times reports. One Vermont farmer has seen his cows’ methane emissions drop 18% after boosting the alfalfa and flaxseed in... More »

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climate change • environment • farming • global warming • France • Vermont • cows • methane • farm • feeding • Stonyfield Farms

New Enemy in Climate Fight: Methane-Heavy Sheep Burps

Methane from livestock may cause more emissions than automobiles

Feb 26, 09 11:09 AM CST
(Newser) - Big oil, coal-fired power plants, automakers and now sheep: As governments look to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, researchers are looking seriously at livestock, believed to contribute more than cars via the methane gas they belch during digestion, the Wall Street Journal reports. To that end, researchers in New Zealand are trying... More »

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climate change • greenhouse gases • New Zealand • methane • sheep • hydrogen

ANALYSIS

 Human Waste Helps 
 Oslo's Carbon Footprint 

Buses in Norway's capital will run on methane distilled from feces

Feb 2, 09 4:21 PM CST
(Newser) - Norwegian officials have hit on a novel, if gassy, alternative to carbon-spewing gasoline, Dave Demerjian writes in Wired. Starting in September, Oslo will capture methane, a byproduct of the process at its sewage treatment plants, and use it to power city buses. Norway hopes to use the gaseous human contribution... More »

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environment • Norway • methane • Oslo • public transportation • alternative fuels • carbon emissions • carbon-neutral

OPINION

 Leave Space to Robots

President Obama would be well-served by removing costly manned exploration goals

Jan 24, 09 2:58 AM CST
(Newser) - Barack Obama is poised to chart a new direction for America’s exploration of the final frontier, writes the Economist. While George W. Bush supported continuing manned space exploration in the tradition of the previous century, Obama is considering scrapping some of NASA’s planned upgrades to the space shuttle... More »

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Barack Obama • NASA • space exploration • Mars • methane • satellite • robots • Obama administration • President Obama

 Methane Hints at Life on Mars 

Gas released in high concentrations could be from bacteria

Jan 15, 09 4:38 PM CST
(Newser) - The discovery of high methane concentrations on Mars may hint that underground life exists on the red planet, the Houston Chronicle reports. Scientists funded by NASA and other institutions, using Earth-based telescopes, have found plumes of methane in such high concentrations they believe bacteria, which can also produce the gas... More »

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NASA • Mars • space • bacteria • methane • extraterrestrial life • red planet

 On Green Menu: Roos & Camels 

Studies say beef emits greenhouse gases

Jan 5, 09 5:34 AM CST
(Newser) - Australians are being advised to save the planet by eating kangaroos and camels. A study of Australia's 1 million wild camels, descendants of camels imported as pack animals, recommends that their numbers be culled by hunting them for food, AFP reports. A separate study suggests that kangaroos be farmed... More »

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cattle • Australia • farming • beef • methane • camels • sheep • greenhouse-gas emissions • kangaroos • Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Center

 Will Undersea Methane 
 Kill Us or Save Us? 

It could be worse than CO2 or viable source of energy

Dec 14, 08 12:46 PM CST
(Newser) - If warnings about undersea methane are true, we can "kiss our winter boots goodbye," Kirsten Weir writes in Salon. In the doomsday scenario, vast stores of undersea gas deposits will melt and send heat-trapping methane into the atmosphere. But such a crisis would require a 10-to-15 degree Celsius... More »

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climate change • carbon dioxide • global warming • Arctic • methane • natural gas • undersea methane

 Even Planes 
 Are Greener 
 Than This Guy 

Rising meat consumption key concern at environment conference

Dec 4, 08 7:45 AM CST
(Newser) - This week ministers from 187 nations are gathering in Poland to discuss a new treaty on global warming, and one of the central issues will be not belching smokestacks but cows, pigs, and chickens. Rising global living standards have led to soaring meat consumption; emissions from livestock now generate 18%... More »

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climate change • environment • agriculture • meat • cows • methane • pig • western diet

 Explorers to 
 Probe Antarctic's 
 Buried Mountains 

Scientists stumped by mysterious range as large as the Alps

Oct 15, 08 6:35 AM CDT
(Newser) - A unique expedition will explore a mysterious mountain range buried deep within the Antarctic, reports the BBC. Scientists, engineers, and pilots from the US, UK, Germany, Australia, China, and Japan will use ice-penetrating radar and other high tech equipment in a bid to determine how the Gamburtsev mountains—equal in... More »

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carbon dioxide • geology • methane • Antarctica • British Antarctic Survey • Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory • Gamburtsev mountains

UN Urges: Eat Less Meat to
Fight Warming

Cattle 'emissions'
equal effect of 33
million automobiles

Sep 7, 08 7:20 AM CDT
(Newser) - Meat-eaters who want to help fight global warming can do so by going vegetarian at least one day a week, a top UN official tells the Guardian. The meat industry accounts for an estimated one-fifth of all greenhouse gas emissions, released during feed production and as methane by flatulent livestock.... More »

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climate change • United Nations • agriculture • global warming • methane • vegetarianism • carbon emissions • meat and poultry

NZ Farmers Gas About Sheep  Flatulence Pollution Law

Fears that methane curb could ruin farms

Jun 8, 08 5:32 AM CDT
(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... More »

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climate change • environment • cattle • greenhouse gases • global warming • livestock • New Zealand • methane • farmer • sheep

 Organic Meat
 Is Climate Culprit 

Livestock raised indoors is better for environment, reports say

May 8, 08 10:29 AM CDT
(Newser) - The gas production, need for space, and food requirements required by organic and free-range livestock hurt the environment more than their traditional counterparts, the BBC reports. Organic poultry can heat the earth some 45% more than indoor poultry, one group said; and a UN division found that farm animals heat... More »

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organic food • carbon footprint • livestock • beef • methane • dairy • deforestation • poultry • animal • pork

Thawing Arctic Could Set Off Methane Climate Bomb

Billions of tons of strong greenhouse gas lie on ocean floor

Apr 17, 08 4:08 PM CDT
(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... More »

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climate change • greenhouse gases • global warming • Siberia • atmosphere • methane • Arctic Sea • carbon emissions

 Methane Found on Far-off Planet

Compound, crucial ingredient in early-life chemistry, detected 63 light years away

Mar 19, 08 4:59 PM CDT
(Newser) - Methane, one of the simplest compounds known to play a role in the chemical genesis of life, was discovered for the first time to exist on a planet outside Earth’s solar system, the BBC reports. The planet, designated HD 189733b, is 63 light years away and also contains water,... More »

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Hubble • space • methane • extraterrestrial life • Spitzer orbiting telescope • carbon • Jupiter • extrasolar planets • gas giant • prebiotic chemicals • organic compounds

China, India
Are Rich in 'Crystal Gas'

Frozen methane stash could feed growing energy appetites

Dec 13, 07 3:41 PM CST
(Newser) - The discovery of a massive store of frozen methane on the seabed off the coast of China may help the world's fastest growing nation keep up with its accelerating energy needs. Methane hydrate, also known as crystal gas, is frozen and yet flammable, and it could mean a breakthrough for... More »

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China • greenhouse gases • India • global warming • methane • fossil fuel

Kangaroo Farts Could Help
Curb Warming

Secret to methane-free gas could be transferred to cattle and sheep

Dec 8, 07 7:43 PM CST
(Newser) - Australian scientists worried about global warming have turned to one of Mother Nature's cleanest "natural gas" producers, the kangaroo, for help. It seems that when kangaroos fart, the stuff contains none of the methane produced by cattle and sheep breaking wind. Scientists want to transfer the bacteria from kangaroos'... More »

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cattle • Australia • greenhouse gases • global warming • methane • scientific research • kangaroo

80 Dead, 20 Missing in Ukraine

Hope dwindles for missing miners as death toll mounts

Nov 19, 07 5:09 PM CST
(Newser) - Rescuers today battled the fiery remnants of a deadly coal mine blast in Ukraine as the death toll was revised upward to at least 80, Reuters reports. Twenty miners are still missing, and given the intense temperatures and lack of air, chances of survival are slim. The explosion is the... More »

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methane • accident • Ukraine • coal mine • disaster

UPDATED

Ukraine Mine Blast Toll Hits 63

37 men missing in methane gas explosion

Nov 18, 07 2:18 PM CST
(Newser) - At least 63 miners were killed early today when a methane gas explosion ripped through a coal mine in eastern Ukraine. Another 37 miners were missing and rescuers have been unable to establish communication with any survivors. More than 360 men were safely evacuated from the half-mile deep mine, AP... More »

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methane • Ukraine • mine collapse

Meat Can be Tough on the Environment

Steaks do more damage than driving; cow farts also a problem

Jul 19, 07 6:10 PM CDT
(Newser) - Four average-sized steaks generate as much greenhouse gas as an ordinary car traveling for 3 hours at 50mph. The meat also chews up 169 megajoules of energy, enough to light a 100-watt bulb for 20 days. These were among the findings of Japanese scientists investigating the effects of beef production... More »

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climate change • cattle • global warming • Japan • beef • meat • cows • methane • steaks • megajoules • Japanese • carbon emissions

1 - 20 of 21 Stories | 1 2 Next >>


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