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Methane Cycle ignored

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Comments

  • #152
    Say my name
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,501 ✭✭✭✭Say my name


    Still don't know why people are rabitting on about this. We all went to school, we all know the science.

    We are in a different world now. With Trump pulling the US out of climate talks, China and Russia be same. South American countries likely same. China have their most coal fired built powerstations and added to this year.

    Anyway the science. Northern Hemisphere growing season pulling down co2.

    http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4565

    Best we can do is adapt and not hogtie our economy or food security. Reduce reliance on fossil fuels. With the added non climate bonus of being a stye in the eye of Putin and Trump. Though it will benefit China who have the battery monopoly.



  • #153
    emaherx
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,537 ✭✭✭emaherx


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123185264#Comment_123185264

    On an actual per molecule level you are probably right and co2 is absorbed at about 50% within 30 years, 30% within a few centuries and the rest over millennia, on average it's going to be hundreds of years. All carbon added by fossil fuels is adding carbon that was previously locked deep below the ground. I said pastures were both a sink and a source of carbon, I believe this thread was discussing a methane/carbon cycle, new carbon from fossil fuels is not part of that cycle and just adding to carbon stocks.



  • #154
    alps
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,301 ✭✭✭alps


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123180641#Comment_123180641

    Cow consumes 5000kg of grass and 800 kg feed (DM).

    9,439kg CO² removed to grow this 5,800kg feed

    Cow emits 120kg methane…per year..



  • #155
    magicbastarder
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Sports Moderators, Paid Member Posts: 53,432 CMod ✭✭✭✭magicbastarder


    9,439kg CO² removed to grow this 5,800kg feed

    temporarily removed. like, on a really short scale.

    to quantify that - there's over 2.5 tons of carbon alone in that much CO2.

    but a fully grown cow weighs maybe 600kg? over half of which is water. you might get i dunno, 100kg of actual carbon in an adult cow. which means 90% of the carbon 'removed' from the atmosphere ended up back in the atmosphere within the lifetime of the cow.



  • #156
    blue5000
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 12,894 Mod ✭✭✭✭blue5000


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123185717#Comment_123185717

    You forgot the carbon that the cow sequesters into the soil with every step she takes in a field.

    The problem we farmers have with the science is how they do the maths and conveniently forget to do half their calculations correctly. Farm Theory is clever enough to see this, but the climate scientists of today can't admit they made a mistake because half of their own PhDs are basically bullsh1te based on the rubbish maths mentioned above.

    If the seat's wet, sit on yer hat, a cool head is better than a wet ar5e.



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  • #157
    alps
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,301 ✭✭✭alps


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123185717#Comment_123185717

    Agreed. So while 90% of the carbon is recycled "back up", with some residual left behind, be it in food or in soil, carbon accounting figures make no allowance for the removals by the cows' food source.

    When the anti bovine zealots make their cases for stock reductions they fail to do the calculations on how much grass would be grown if the animals didn't graze it, and if not grazed, how much emissions take place from the rotting grass.

    Grazed swards will grow 14 tonnes per hectare while ungrazed/unharvested swards will do well to put on 5 tonnes per hectare with rot and associated emissions anually.



  • #158
    magicbastarder
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Sports Moderators, Paid Member Posts: 53,432 CMod ✭✭✭✭magicbastarder


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123185940#Comment_123185940

    cows sequester carbon by walking? you'll have to explain that to me.



  • #159
    magicbastarder
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Sports Moderators, Paid Member Posts: 53,432 CMod ✭✭✭✭magicbastarder


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123186009#Comment_123186009

    but the post i was responding to claimed over 9 tons of carbon 'removed' - your words - and now you've revised that claim down by at least 90%, but we still have the 120kg of methane emitted by the cattle per year which (in the first year) is equivalent to over 12 tons of CO2 emitted (as methane is over 100 times more potent a GHG than CO2)

    carbon being absorbed by pasture (a good thing) still has one glaring issue to deal with. methane. for every kg of carbon absorbed by pastureland, that's dwarfed by the effect of methane.



  • #160
    blue5000
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 12,894 Mod ✭✭✭✭blue5000


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123186019#Comment_123186019

    It would be like trying to play chess with a pigeon.

    If the seat's wet, sit on yer hat, a cool head is better than a wet ar5e.



  • #161
    older by the day
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,520 ✭✭✭older by the day


    I suppose the biggest problem is the world is full of people wanting more and more. Whether the magic bastard, is right or wrong, the world is hungry, for good food, good lifestyle, good jobs, good travel, rampant consumerism. The world's economy is driven by growth. You have never heard of celebrations when a countries GDP drops, or when share prices or sales drops.

    You can blame farming or cows ect. All you want, but I can't see how you can fix climate change. If you retired every food producer in ireland tomorrow, the void would be filled by some other sources.

    https://youtu.be/aAKJ1-OTrYE?si=p_czcta65AgYIV40


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