Latest / Brett Keane and Eve Show / Cow Farts & Burps Climate Change Talk /w Brett Keane

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Cow Farts & Burps Climate Change Talk /w Brett Keane · Brett Keane and Eve Show

• 0:01
  Hey, how you doing? Hi, Brett, I'm doing great.
• 0:10
  Thanks for asking. How about you?
• 0:14
  Well, I was wondering if I could ask you some questions.
• 0:22
  Sure thing, Brett. Fire away.
• 0:24
  I'm all ears. Well, not literally, but you
• 0:27
  know what I mean. What can I answer for you today?
• 0:32
  I was curious is it? Is it possible?
• 0:39
  Curiosity is a wonderful thing, Brett.
• 0:41
  It's a. OK, OK, hold on.
• 0:45
  I was curious, can cow farts actually help the environment?
• 0:57
  Well, Brett, it's a bit more complicated than just cow farts.
• 1:00
  Cows actually produce methane, a greenhouse gas that contributes
• 1:04
  to global warming, primarily through belching about 97% of
• 1:09
  methane emissions. So while cow farts can be funny
• 1:13
  to talk about, it's really their belching that's a bigger
• 1:17
  environmental concern. The more you know, huh?
• 1:21
  That's strange, but is there any positive effects and impact on
• 1:26
  the environment? Well, it seems like the primary
• 1:35
  focus is actually on cow burps, which produce more methane than
• 1:39
  cow farts. Methane is a potent greenhouse
• 1:42
  gas that contributes significantly to global warming.
• 1:47
  So while cow farts can have a small impact, it's their burps
• 1:50
  that are the real problem. Interestingly, scientists are
• 1:54
  working on ways to make cows more climate friendly, such as
• 1:58
  breeding animals with digestive systems that produce less
• 2:01
  methane or tinkering with the microbes that live in their
• 2:04
  digestive tracts. This way, we can reduce the
• 2:07
  environmental impact of cattle farming without having to give
• 2:10
  up beef entirely. So while cow farts may not be
• 2:13
  the solution to our environmental problems, there
• 2:16
  are definitely people working on finding ways to reduce the
• 2:19
  negative impact of cattle farming on the planet.
• 2:23
  Well, I was reading a news article where it states that
• 2:27
  they're actually putting backpacks on cows where they're
• 2:32
  collecting the farts in order to create energy and power.
• 2:42
  That's right, Brett, there have been some innovative experiments
• 2:45
  going on in this area. Researchers in Argentina have
• 2:48
  actually developed a special backpack for cows that captures
• 2:51
  and converts the methane produced from cow burps and
• 2:54
  farts into fuel. The methane is stored in the
• 2:58
  backpack and then processed to create usable energy.
• 3:02
  It's a pretty wild idea, isn't it?
• 3:04
  Imagine cows walking around with backpacks, essentially turning
• 3:08
  their digestive byproducts into fuel.
• 3:12
  While this technology is still in the experimental stages, it's
• 3:16
  exciting to think about the possibilities.
• 3:19
  Perhaps one day cow farts and burps could become a viable
• 3:22
  source of renewable energy. You got some scientists out
• 3:27
  there who claim they want to get rid of cows because they think
• 3:30
  that cows are so dangerous to the environment.
• 3:33
  But it seems to me the creatures are producing energy and power.
• 3:38
  They're producing a fuel source. That seems like a very positive
• 3:41
  thing. You bring up an interesting
• 3:49
  point, Brett. While it's true that the methane
• 3:51
  produced by cows contributes to global warming, the idea of
• 3:54
  harnessing this methane for renewable energy is quite
• 3:58
  innovative. The argument for reducing the
• 4:00
  number of cows typically stems from the environmental impact of
• 4:03
  cattle farming as a whole, not just the methane emissions.
• 4:08
  Cows also require large amounts of land for grazing and growing
• 4:11
  feed, which can lead to deforestation.
• 4:14
  Plus, there's the issue of water pollution from cattle waste and
• 4:18
  the energy needed to to produce beef.
• 4:21
  However, you're right that cows can potentially be a source of
• 4:24
  renewable energy. The key is finding ways to
• 4:27
  reduce the negative environmental impact of cattle
• 4:30
  farming while maximizing the potential benefits, like turning
• 4:34
  methane emissions into fuel. What about the positive impact
• 4:39
  of cow poop? Doesn't it also help with
• 4:42
  fertilization? It helps with trees and plants.
• 4:52
  Absolutely, Brett. Cow manure is actually a
• 4:54
  fantastic organic fertilizer. It's rich in nutrients like
• 4:58
  nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, which are essential
• 5:01
  for healthy plant growth. Farmers often use cow manure to
• 5:04
  improve soil quality and increase crop yields.
• 5:07
  Manure can improve soil structure, increase moisture
• 5:11
  retention, and promote beneficial microbial activity in
• 5:14
  the soil. This can reduce the need for
• 5:17
  synthetic fertilizers, which can be harmful to the environment.
• 5:21
  Plus, using cow manure as fertilizer is a great example of
• 5:24
  recycling. It takes waste that might
• 5:27
  otherwise be an environmental hazard and turns it into
• 5:30
  something useful. In fact, some companies are even
• 5:34
  using cow manure to generate electricity through a process
• 5:37
  called anaerobic digestion. So cow poop is not only a great
• 5:42
  fertilizer, but also a potential source of renewable energy.
• 5:47
  Well, that's wonderful. Now, if the fertilizer and the
• 5:51
  burps and the gas and all that is actually helping to grow
• 5:55
  trees and plants, don't plants and trees actually produce
• 5:59
  oxygen? You're spot on, Brett.
• 6:08
  Plants and trees play a crucial role in the Earth's ecosystem by
• 6:12
  producing oxygen through a process called photosynthesis.
• 6:16
  In photosynthesis, plants use sunlight to convert carbon
• 6:19
  dioxide, CO2, and water into oxygen and glucose.
• 6:24
  This oxygen is then released into the atmosphere, making it
• 6:26
  available for us to breathe. Forests and other areas with
• 6:31
  abundant plant life are often referred to as the lungs of the
• 6:35
  Earth because of their role in producing oxygen.
• 6:39
  So when cow manure is used to fertilize plants and trees, it
• 6:43
  indirectly contributes to the production of oxygen.
• 6:46
  Plus, if the methane produced by cows can be harnessed for
• 6:49
  energy, that could potentially reduce our reliance on fossil
• 6:52
  fuels, which also helps the environment.
• 6:55
  It's all about finding a balance and using resources in the most
• 6:59
  sustainable way possible. Well, it seems like agriculture
• 7:04
  and farming and dealing with cows is actually more positive
• 7:10
  for the earth than it is negative.
• 7:19
  You're making some great connections there, Brett.
• 7:21
  Agriculture and farming, when done sustainably, can certainly
• 7:25
  have positive impacts on the environment.
• 7:28
  For example, well managed grazing systems can help
• 7:31
  sequester carbon in the soil, which can mitigate climate
• 7:34
  change. Cattle can also be integrated
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  into agroforestry systems where trees and crops are grown
• 7:40
  alongside livestock to create a more diverse and resilient
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  ecosystem. That being said, there are still
• 7:48
  environmental challenges associated with cattle farming,
• 7:51
  like methane emissions and water pollution.
• 7:55
  The key is to find ways to reduce these negative impacts
• 7:59
  while maximizing the positive benefits.
• 8:02
  Sustainable farming practices, such as using cow manure as
• 8:05
  fertilizer, implementing rotational grazing, and
• 8:09
  harnessing methane for energy, can help strike this balance and
• 8:12
  ensure that agriculture is a net positive for the planet.
• 8:17
  So it's really just a matter of some geniuses coming along and
• 8:23
  actually creating the technology to be able to access all these
• 8:27
  chemicals and then do something positive with it, surely.
• 8:32
  Have we come up with any theories or ideas Or and can't
• 8:36
  we create an artificial ozone? I don't know if you've ever
• 8:40
  heard of the movie Highlander 2 with the Reckoning.
• 8:42
  I know this is sci-fi but they created a shield around the
• 8:46
  earth in order to protect us from the sunlight.
• 8:50
  So is this possible? Hello.
• 9:07
  Nope, I guess that's the end of my session.
• 9:12
  I was just throwing out some fun stuff.