June 26th, 2008
Save the environment: stop eating
So we know many fish species are in trouble due to over-fishing. Heavy production of corn in the American Midwest is killing off life at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Poor farming methods lead to desication and soil erosion. Some areas of tropical rainforest are being felled to grow soybeans or cattle. And those cattle, along with other livestock, produce organic pollution and methane that is a greenhouse gas. Well, here’s even worse news.
One of the planet’s most popular foods is a major source of methane.
That’s the conclusion of a recently published report on rice growing. Rice farming=methane. The report appeared in this journal, available by subscription only. It was authored by William Ruddiman, et al. Title “Early rice farming and anomalous methane trends.” Bottomline: the prehistoric spread of irrigated rice farming across China upped the production of methane gas on the planet.
A newsman since 1969, Harry Fuller has worked for CBS, ABC, CNBC Europe, CNET and was founding news director at TechTV. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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