Methane and Global Warming
August 28, 2009 at 1:46 am 2 comments
I’d like to hear some thoughts about whether fauna are creating more methane today or in the past and how that might affect global warming
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1.
AJ | August 28, 2009 at 4:46 pm
I would think it is only conjecture on our part. There were more animals I assume on the planet historically. But for many of our modern animals their diets aren’t the same. I would think there are other things that contribute to “global warming” more so than animals and probably we have more control over.
2.
EJ | August 29, 2009 at 7:17 pm
I’m trying to recall the brief discussions of methane in my classes. From
what I remember (and take this with a grain of salt) we mainly talked of
methane in reference to big ag businesses. So the issue was not that there
are necessarily more cattle (or therefore dung) then there had been
historically, but that these now larger amounts of cattle and other animals
that produce massive amounts of methane have also been secluded to a
relatively small area. Historically I guess you could have seen piles o’
dino the size of a VW Bug, but that was the only dino doo doo within a large
square area. Now you have huge amounts of methane being produced by
something like pigs, and it all being pushed into a pile at the far end of
someones farm. I suppose that the large concentrations of methane stick
around more than spread out amounts that dissipate rather easily. So
problems with methane would be at a rather local level, but more serious
problems with soil and water contamination are the larger issue with cattle
and other livestock.
As far as global warming is concerned, I feel like professors (both pro and
against global warming theories) basically said that methane levels are
higher today, but that the amount of methane is so minimal in comparison
(and this is where they would begin to differ) to other natural or
anthropomorphic gases that its a non issue.