Holy Cow! Another Global Warming Myth busted.

(Originally published on Australian Climate Sceptics blog)

The word “Sustainability” has been hijacked with definitions developed by groups pushing various agendas including being used extensively to promote the Agenda 21 agenda to a point that we need to be wary of the use of the word.

Having said that, here is a pre-Christmas story from 

Cows’ Role in Global Warming Overlooked in Climate Talks

Cattle and other ruminants are probably the biggest human-related source of methane, a gas adding to global warming, and climate negotiators have paid too little attention to livestock, a team of researchers said. 

Cows, sheep, goats and buffalo produce “copious amounts” of methane in their digestive systems, Oregon State University wrote in an online press release, citing analysis published in the journal Nature Climate Change today. One of the most effective ways to cut the gas would be to reduce the global population of ruminant livestock, the university said.

Yet there is a multitude (or should I say a stampede?) of information contradicting this. Googling "cattle carbon neutral" brings around a quarter million hits. E.G:-

US Grasslands Carbon Neutral: (The Land)

Cattle grazing systems on native grassland in the northern United States are reducing greenhouse gases, a new study reports. 

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) researchers set out to get a local perspective on European conclusions that managed grasslands are greenhouse gas sinks—(although when methane and nitrous oxide emissions were taken into account, the greenhouse gas balance in the European sites was closer to neutral). 

The USDA study, reported this week in the Journal of Environmental Quality, came to a mixed conclusion. 

It confirmed that in the North Dakota study area, all grazing treatments sequestered significant quantities of carbon and minor quantities of atmospheric methane.

Climate breakthrough: cattle carbon neutral: (Qld Country Life)

A NEW report which shows that Queensland's cattle grazing industry is already all but carbon neutral and could provide a solution in addressing the State's overall carbon liability has been buried by the Bligh Government. 

It is understood the release of the 30-page report prepared by Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries has been derailed by Greg Withers, the Director-General of the Queensland Government's Department of Climate Change and Premier Anna Bligh's husband. 

The report, which examines the carbon footprint of the beef industry and the impact of vegetation clearing bans, has been peer reviewed by a number of the nation's top scientists, including the CSIRO's Dr Ed Charmley, QUT's Dr Peter Grace, and Meat and Livestock Australia's Beverly Henry. 

The authors of the report - titled Net Carbon Position of the Queensland Beef Industry - are respected QPIF scientists Dr Steven Bray and Dr Jacqui Wilcocks.

Ruminants not Kyoto villains  (link: pdf)

A Paper by Dr Gerrit van der Lingen published by the NZ Climate Science Coalition.  (NZCSC)

The New Zealand Government signed the Kyoto protocol on 22 May 1998 and ratified it on 19 December 2002. 

Perhaps there was some justification in 2002 before the bottom fell out of the falsified AGW hypothesis. (See also UK Met Office, Jo Nova)

All plants, including grass, require carbon dioxide to grow. Grass is eaten by ruminants and the carbon in it is used for the growth of the animal and for milk and wool production. A small part of the carbon from the grass is used to make methane through enteric fermentation. This methane is emitted by the animals into the atmosphere. It stays in the atmosphere for only about 10 years, after which it changes back to carbon dioxide, which in turn is being absorbed by the grass, which in turn is eaten by the animals, etc. It is basically a closed loop. However, some of the carbon is incorporated by the animals into skin, wool, meat and bones. Some of those are subsequently turned into durable animal-based commodities, such as woollen garments, leather products, even bone carvings. As long as such products are not incinerated, the carbon stays locked up. It is being sequestered.  

Consequently, ruminants act as carbon sinks. There is therefore no justification to include ruminant methane emissions in the Kyoto Protocol obligations.

Do the Alarmists check both sides of the debate or just go ahead and publish already busted alarm stories?