Are Pigs the problem ?

Question

Just watched Channel4 News which carried a piece about carbon offset and mentioned some scheme which captured methane produced by pigs As well as wisecracks about the obvious comic value of such an idea anyone got a serious idea about 1) how it works and 2) what contribution animal gases make to global warming

Answer 1

Much of the methane produced by oinks isn't actually produced by the animal, but by the breakdown of pig waste in an anaerobic environment. The contribution of animal gases is very small. I cannot remember the exact numbers, but I was amazed to read that naturally occuring, healthy coastal swampland is one of the most significant contributors of methane on the east coast.  Rotting swamp vegetation breaks down anaerobically just like pig waste in the common anaerobic lagoon. Many acres of swamp = mucho methane.

Answer 2

the gases produced by pigs and cows do contribute a lot to the green house effect so much so research is being done on an enzyme found in kangaroos ( who do not pass methane ) with the view to genetically introducing it into the blood line of bovines

Answer 3

Yes, pigs are a problem.  My wife put one of ours in the bath tub for a bath and it won't get out and I want to take a bath.  He tried to bite me and he's using all the shampoo.

Answer 4

Rice fields, landfill sites and swamps produce a fair bit of methane too!

Answer 5

Animals have been stabilizing our planet for millions of years.  Pigs are a very small part.

Answer 6

Pigs aren't a problem. Piglet is a great friend.

Answer 7

I heard something on the radio the other day. It said cows were the BIGGEST contributers of methane immissions. Don't start Heather Mills McCartney off, she reckons we should drink RAT'S MILK, rather than cow's milk, because of the impact on the environment, caused by cows. I bet it won't stop her living in a huge environmentally unfriendly house with her £55 million quid divorce settlement.

Answer 8

One or two farmers have installed heat exchangers in their milking parlours to heat the house and they work very well for free. They use the heat produced by the beasts. I did read of one guy that collected the methane and used it to run his car.

Answer 9

You got some pretty good answers.  Cattle are definately a bigger probem than pigs.  If we use the methane to produce energy, we kill two birds with one stone.   I've posted this before, but it shows what can be done.

"Wild Rose Dairy in Webster Township, WI is home to an innovative renewable energy facility powered by cow manure and other organic waste. The farm is home to 900 dairy cows, and an on-site anaerobic digester creates methane-rich biogas from their waste, which is used to generate 750 kilowatts of electricity per hour—enough to power 600 local homes 24/7."

Dairy farms in California have started to do this too.

Dana Master of Science has the scoop on it.

Answer 10

as stated above by tucksie, there are farms out there that convert the methane into energy for use on the farm.  I know a while back San Francisco was thinking of starting a program for dog waste to do the same thing, however I'm not too sure if that ever took off.  I've also heard of a few zoos who are doing the same thing with the elephant waste.

I'm sure the methane gas produced by animals is a contributing factor.  I've seen claims of 1/5 to 1/3 of global warming is caused by this gas.

Answer 11

Methane is a real big problem

The Russian permafrost contains thousands of tons of it

and it is thawing.

Number 52 in The reasons to be depressed.

Answer 12

1.  all animals (including humans) release methane in our breath and farting, which contributes to global warming

2.  no idea, but very small

Answer 13

No, pigs are a very small part of the problem.

There is methane in pig manure, but it's a fairly small amount.  Cattle produce significantly more methane than pigs, for example.

On top of that, methane emissions contribute to just 15% of global warming (as opposed to 75% for CO2), and livestock only account for 37% of those methane emissions.

http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/aug...

http://www.virtualcentre.org/en/library/...

And most of that is from cattle.

The main contribution from livestock to global warming is in land use changes - for example cutting down rainforests to make pasture land for cattle to graze on.  But pigs need relatively little land to raise them, so they're impact on global warming is pretty small.

Cows on the other hand account for about 18% of human greenhouse gas emissions.  Our consumption of beef is definitely a problem.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

Says Henning Steinfeld, Chief of FAO’s Livestock Information and Policy Branch and senior author of the report: “Livestock are one of the most significant contributors to today’s most serious environmental problems. Urgent action is required to remedy the situation.”

http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006...