Natural ‘gas’ problem is not so funny

The methane emissions problem remains as acute, according to Richard Collins, who wonders, which creatures can help?

Bubbles of methane rise to the surface when you probe mud in stagnant pools. This ‘marsh gas’ is two dozen times more powerful, as a heat trapper, than carbon dioxide. The Arctic permafrost is melting, releasing vast quantities of methane into the atmosphere. Oil drilling and town dumps emit the gas. So do farm animals.

There are about 1.5bn cattle and 1bn sheep worldwide and their numbers are increasing. Vegetarian animals face a digestive challenge; stomach acids can’t break down plant-cell walls. Cattle sheep and deer evolved fermentation chambers, known as rumens, in which bacteria attack plant fibres.