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DO METHANE EMITTING COWS CONTRIBUTE TO GLOBAL WARMING?

#70
Not to be a nerd here but methane is odorless.
Also, methane emitted by cows and other animals has been in plant form before they ate it, i.e. CO2 absorbed by plants. So methane emissions by cows are actually only re-emitting carbohydrates that were already present in the atmosphere. It's kind of like a recycling process.
Same thing happens when you burn gasoline or petrol. Only difference is that in that case, the CO2 had been absorbed by plants billions of years ago, when the earth's atmosphere was mainly CO2 and not oxygen.
 
#73
BoneMachine said:
Not to be a nerd here but methane is odorless.
Also, methane emitted by cows and other animals has been in plant form before they ate it, i.e. CO2 absorbed by plants. So methane emissions by cows are actually only re-emitting carbohydrates that were already present in the atmosphere. It's kind of like a recycling process.
Same thing happens when you burn gasoline or petrol. Only difference is that in that case, the CO2 had been absorbed by plants billions of years ago, when the earth's atmosphere was mainly CO2 and not oxygen.
Click to expand...

How could that be? The earth's atmosphere was mainly CO2 a few billion years ago and the whole world didn't flood, and there were actually plants around to absorb the CO2, they didn't fry from the 'greenhouse effect?"

But, but, but, high levels of CO2 in the atmosphere is going to *destroy the world!!!

*trademarked by bruce
 
#78
Diggler:

When photosynthesis began, that is about 2.5 billion years after the formation of the sun, oxygen concentration in the atmosphere was about 1/1000 of what it is today. Photosynthesis was first performed by algae, not plants. Plants made their appearance quite later than that. The world may not have flooded back then, but it was after the oxygen concentration started to rise that life was ever possible on earth. Had there not been for algae, and then plants, the existence of oxygen-breathing life could not survive on earth. Also, had there not been the formation of phytoplankton (when the oxygen concentration was about 1/100 of today's value), the ozone layer would not have formed, and the ultraviolet radiation of the solar spectrum would not have permitted life on earth. It's sort of a circle of events.

edit: for those doubting what i say, send me a p.m. and i'll give you a reading list:)

Ok. Now I can go back to being a normal bassist...
 
#80
Blisshead said:
Good plan, I envision it playing out like this:

cowfire.jpg
Click to expand...

If you think that's neat, wait for the picture of the alien satelite dish that pops out. :smug:
 

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