Looks like cows are NOW being given a reprieve as co-culprits of global warming (not really "co-" because humans farm and then eat the cows...so it's still OUR fault), whereas we were once told that Al Gore's cow-chomping tendencies were the ultimate in global warming hypocrisy (so many examples of Gore's hypocrisy from which to choose). LOL! The article implies that CO2 is the most potent greenhouse gas, and that's a lie. Methane is far more potent. Water vapor...yes, water vapor...is the MOST potent greenhouse gas; CO2 is CHUMP-CHANGE compared to H2O.
I'm sure the EPA will declare H2O a public emergency soon.
"It's been generally assumed that if you increase livestock numbers you get a rise in emissions of nitrous oxide. This is not the case," he said.
Estimated nitrous oxide emissions from temperate grasslands in places like Inner Mongolia as well as vast swatches of the United States, Canada, Russia and China account for up a third of the total amount of the greenhouse gas produced every year. Nitrous oxide is the third most important greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide and methane.
But Dr Butterbach-Bahl pointed out that the study did not take into account the methane produced by the livestock or the carbon dioxide produced if soil erodes. He also pointed out that much of the red meat eaten in the western world if from intensively farmed animals in southern countries.
He said the study does not overturn the case for cutting down on red meat but shows grazing livestock is not always bad for global warming.
[From Cows absolved of causing global warming with nitrous oxide - Telegraph]
