5.30pm
Pill stops cow burps and helps save the planetKate Connolly in Berlin
Thursday March 22, 2007
Guardian UnlimitedCut down on flying, sell the car and recycle your bottles.
But if you really want to tackle global warming, you should
stop your cow from burping.
According to scientific estimates, the methane gas produced
by cows is responsible for 4% of greenhouse gas emissions.
And now, German scientists have invented a pill to cut
bovine burping.
The fist-sized plant-based pill, known as a bolus, combined
with a special diet and strict feeding times, is meant to
reduce the methane produced by cows.
-snip-"We could use the energy to boost the cow's metabolism,"
he said. The idea is that the cows would use the methane
to produce glucose instead of passing it as wind. In turn
this should help them to produce more milk.
-snip-Read more:
http://environment.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,,2040615,00.html