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SAVE OUR PLANET… Nitrous oxide and methane emissions recalculated. Although CO2 emissions
are typically believed to be the primary source of global warming, a study conducted by Dutch
government researcher Dr. Petra Kroon has found that non-CO2 emissions, specifically
those from methane and nitrous oxide, have in fact been underestimated due to inaccurate
measuring methods. By devising an innovative technique to measure the emission of these
gases, Dr. Kroon, who was conducting research on behalf of the Netherlands’ Energy Research
Center and Delft University of Technology, was able to calculate their contributions
more accurately. She found that the previous methods used by the UN Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change for measuring these gases would account in the Netherlands for 14% percent
of overall greenhouse gas emissions, and 23% globally. However, Dr. Kroon’s newly available
technology and methods that allowed measurements across several hectares continuously yielded
vastly different measurements, which were also calculated with a much higher degree
of certainty. Using this technique, Dr. Kroon found, for example, that 70% of the annual
greenhouse gas emissions in a peat pasture area used for intensive dairy farming were
attributed to methane and nitrous oxide emissions. Nitrous oxide and methane are known to be
linked to agriculture, with the methane mostly released from cattle and nitrous oxide emitted
primarily by their manure as well as fertilizers. These two gases are also known to have a much
higher global warming potential than CO2, which could change other calculations considerably.
Our appreciation, Dr. Kroon, the Netherlands and Delft University of Technology for this
insightful research. May individuals and governments alike quickly adopt more sustainable ways
such as organic vegan farming to cool and restore our planetary balance.
During a November 2009 videoconference in the United States, Supreme Master Ching Hai
discussed research findings that also confirmed the significance of nitrous oxide and methane
and their main source in animal agriculture.
Videoconference with Supreme Master Ching Hai
Washington, D.C., USA – November 8, 2009
Supreme Master Ching Hai: Now, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization
reported that livestock raising is the single largest human use of land, the biggest source
of water pollution, the number one cause of biodiversity loss, and the top producer of
human-caused methane and nitrous oxide.
Furthermore, NASA announced that methane actually contributes much more to global warming than
previously understood and it traps 100 times the atmospheric heat over 20 years. And the
largest source of methane is? You know - livestock.
There is an advantage of time here, because one aspect of methane is that it dissipates
in around 12 year’s time, whereas carbon dioxide, CO2, stays in the atmosphere for
up to thousands of years. So, we remove the livestock-generated methane, and the planet
cools fast!
I am positive we will do it. We can make it – just a little change, just a little change.
Just a little piece of animal meat, change to vegetable protein�