Great News! CBS News reports:
On Prince Edward Island in Canada, farmer Joe Dorgan’s unlikely discovery has the potential to change the world.
Seaweed can reduce cow’s global warming impact (methane)
Kinley’s research showed Asparagopsis, a common type of red seaweed, has the potential to virtually eliminate methane emissions from livestock.
Livestock accounts for 15% of global emissions
In a year, a cow emits as much greenhouse gas as a small car. Because animal numbers have skyrocketed to help feed a growing human population, livestock now accounts for 15% of global emissions.
Large Impact: Eliminating all US Emissions
Eliminating almost all methane from almost all cow’s on Earth “would have a tremendous impact, roughly equivalent to eliminating all the emissions from the U.S., or the equivalent of taking every car off the road globally,” Goldman said.
Cows consume less feed
For that, Goldman says there’s an incentive: adding seaweed to a cow’s diet means they consume less food. And, he says, dairy farmers and cattle ranchers will likely be able to cash in, selling carbon credits for the emissions they reduce.
Can Global Shipping Go Zero Carbon?
Today on The Indicator, we present Short Wave, NPR’s new daily science podcast hosted by Maddie Sofia. Because science, as with everything else, always comes back to economics!
A lot of the stuff we buy comes via ship, using a particularly dirty kind of fuel. Now a big shipping firm says it wants to go carbon neutral. Short Wave looks at how some old tech might play a role.
Follow Short Wave host Maddie Sofia on Twitter @maddie_sofia. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.