L.A. Times highlights role of livestock and their "killer emissions" in global warming

Just days after Al Gore took home a share of the Nobel Peace Prize for his work related to climate change, the Los Angeles Times weighed in on global warming with a lengthy editorial. This was not the usual call for cleaner cars or reduced energy use; instead, this focused on another key factor contributing to greenhouse gases — livestock emissions.

Feel free to insert your own cow flatulence joke — or one about how we at The Rural Blog seemed obsessed with animal odor today — but this editorial is serious about the impact of livestock emissions. Each day, one cow can produce 25 to 130 gallons of methane, which has 21 times the warming potential of carbon dioxide, the Times points out:

All told, livestock are responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse-gas emissions worldwide, according to the U.N. -- more than all the planes, trains and automobiles on the planet. And it's going to get a lot worse. As living standards rise in the developing world, so does its fondness for meat and dairy. Annual per-capita meat consumption in developing countries doubled from 31 pounds in 1980 to 62 pounds in 2002, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization, which expects global meat production to more than double by 2050. That means the environmental damage of ranching would have to be cut in half just to keep emissions at their current, dangerous level.

After describing the efforts being made to convert animal wastes into energy, the lengthy editorial calls for Americans to reduce slightly their intake of meat, and it urges lawmakers to recognize the role of livestock in climate change. It's an interesting read, and it does make you think. (Read more)