A
Anselm33
Guest
In view of the heated discussion on AGW (anthropic --manmade–global warming) in another thread, I’d like to put forth a modest proposal. It doesn’t have much science to back it up, but that’s not a fault for Greenies. CH4 (methane) is about 23 times more effective as a GHG (Green House Gas) than CO2 because of the greater number of low-frequency bending vibrations that can emit absorbed energy in the low IR (Infra-Red, heat) region of the spectrum. Moreover, CH4 is not recycled as a nutrient for vegetation, unlike CO2. The only scientific proof I have to offer that atmospheric CH4 can be connected with a hot earth is that in the distant past (I think) there was lots of CH4 in the earth’s atmosphere and the temperatures were much hotter.
Now CH4 is emitted in human and animal flatus and eructations (burps); cattle are a big offender. The following foodstuffs–broccoli, onions, peppers, etc–are known to cause flatus in humans, so I propose a “cap the gut gas” tax on such vegetables and a tax on cattle (as recently proposed in New Zealand) . Possibly research projects could figure out technology to capture the CH4 from gut gas, which could then be a new energy source.
As I said, the science for this isn’t strong, but we can carry out the program as a moral exercise, sort of an economic hair shirt.
I’d be interested in critical responses.
Now CH4 is emitted in human and animal flatus and eructations (burps); cattle are a big offender. The following foodstuffs–broccoli, onions, peppers, etc–are known to cause flatus in humans, so I propose a “cap the gut gas” tax on such vegetables and a tax on cattle (as recently proposed in New Zealand) . Possibly research projects could figure out technology to capture the CH4 from gut gas, which could then be a new energy source.
As I said, the science for this isn’t strong, but we can carry out the program as a moral exercise, sort of an economic hair shirt.
I’d be interested in critical responses.