On feedlots across the U.S., cows produce methane, a greenhouse gas 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere.
On feedlots across the U.S., cows produce methane, a greenhouse gas 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere. They also produce ammonia, a gas that reacts with acids in the atmosphere to create aerosols, like PM2.5, a pollutant dangerous to human health.
In an effort to find novel ways to mitigate harmful gases escaping into the atmosphere, scientists wondered — could changing cattle’s diet reduce the gases they leave behind?
To test the idea, a team of CU Boulder, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and Kansas State University researchers used high-tech lasers on a Kansas feedlot to measure gases produced by cows.
Read More: University of Colorado Boulder
Photo Credit: Miller_Eszter via Pixabay
