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> irrigate the Sahara Desert to turn it into a vast grassland that can support a billion cattle. There are currently about a billion cows[1], and these produce
by wcoenen 5y ago
> irrigate the Sahara Desert to turn it into a vast grassland that can support a billion cattle.
There are currently about a billion cows[1], and these produce 14.5% of green house gases[2] (in the form of methane, measured as co2-equivalent). Doubling that would not be very good.
[1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/263979/global-cattle-population-since-1990/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/263979/global-cattle-pop...
[2] https://clear.ucdavis.edu/explainers/using-global-emission-statistics-distracting-us-climate-change-solutions https://clear.ucdavis.edu/explainers/using-global-emission-s...
- phonypc 5y agoOP's idea is batshit, but worth noting that a doubling of the cattle population doesn't necessitate a doubling of emissions. Actually, your second link kinda goes into this. It's written by an animal agriculture advocate who recommends improving the efficiency of, rather than reducing, animal agriculture.