Scientists to Make Cows Fart Like Kangaroos to Cool the Planet
Posted By Jorge Chapa On January 3, 2008 @ 2:28 pm In global warming | 31 Comments
[4]
We’re guessing that headline caught your attention! Cow farts are a source of greenhouse gases, while kangaroo farts are methane free thanks to a particular bacteria in their stomachs. Now, in a bizarre twist of science-reality, scientists from Australia are trying to neutralize cow-produced methane [5] by transferring that kangaroo bacteria to cattle and sheep’s guts. According to the government of Queensland, almost 14% of all greenhouse gas emissions from Australia come from cow farts, so this seemingly silly idea could actually make a big difference.
However, while few things warm our hearts more than kangaroos (except perhaps for a koala), and while we applaud the scientists attempts at reducing a source of greenhouse gases, it still feels a bit too mad scientist to us. No word on whether or not they will get cows to jump as well. We’ll let you know how they progress.
Article printed from Inhabitat – Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building: http://inhabitat.com
URL to article: http://inhabitat.com/scientists-to-make-cows-fart-like-kangaroos/
URLs in this post:
[1] Tweet: http://twitter.com/share
[2] Share on Tumblr: http://www.tumblr.com/share
[3] Email: mailto:?subject=http://inhabitat.com/scientists-to-make-cows-fart-like-kangaroos/
[4] Image: http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/01/03/scientists-to-make-cows-fart-like-kangaroos/
[5] neutralize cow-produced methane: http://www.theage.com.au/news/climate-watch/quest-to-make-cattle-fart-like-marsupials/2007/12/06/1196812922326.html
Click here to print.