WHAT DOES ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ have to do with cow farts or methane? Well, I wanted a humorous title to catch the reader’s attention—especially given the seriousness of the—and the word “farts” catches a lot of folk’s attention. As for AOC, you will have to wait until the postscript below to find out how she is associated with bovine flatulence.
I just received an email newsletter that mentioned the article “Methane Leak in Antarctic Sea Floor Prompts Fears of Climate Tipping Points” by Joe McCarthy (Global Citizen – July 24, 2020). It’s a serious topic and while methane leaks from the Antarctic were expected, this leak is a puzzler:
“Scientists have identified the first active leak of methane gas in the seafloor of Antarctica. The cause of the leak is unclear, but scientists have so far ruled out climate change because the Ross Sea, where the leak is located, has been relatively shielded from warming temperatures.
Scientists have identified the first active leak of methane gas in the seafloor of Antarctica and have so far ruled out climate change.
The leak was worsened by the relative absence of microbes that would normally filter the methane before it enters the atmosphere.
Methane makes up 10 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions that scientists blame for global warming. Enteric fermentation, the digestive process in cows and other ruminant animals, is the largest source of U.S. methane emissions.”
According to Andrew Thurber, from Oregon State University, who led the research: “The delay [in methane consumption] is the most important finding. It is not good news. It took more than five years for the microbes to begin to show up and even then there was still methane rapidly escaping from the seafloor.”
To read the article in its entirety, click HERE.
Scientists have identified the first active leak of methane gas in the seafloor of Antarctica and have so far ruled out climate change. Click To Tweet
FEATURED IMAGE: The photo at the top of this page was cropped from this photo that I found with “Green New Deal Looks To Tackle The Scourge Of Farting Cows.” This article states (and I have condensed two paragraphs into one):
“Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s newly-released Green New Deal resolution calls for a World War II-style mobilization effort to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural operations. If that’s the case, that means any subsequent Green New Deal legislation would have to deal with a major source of methane emissions—cow flatulence and burps.”
PS: For readers who may think I am taking a poke at Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, well, I guess I am. Farts are funny and politicians considering them seriously is kinda humorous (click the “Green New Deal” link above). That said, I am a big fan of AOC and hope that I live long enough to vote for her for President of these here (dis)United States!
