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Methane’s shorter lifespan & cow efficiencies will make net-zero possible

An air quality specialist says the wrong metrics are being used when discussing climate change.

Frank Mitloehner at the University of California Davis tells Brownfield methane does not have the same lifespan as other greenhouse gasses.

“Methane is very different from other greenhouse gasses, such as CO2 and nitrous oxide, because it has a very short lifespan.”

He says methane’s lifespan is only 12 years compared to CO2 which can last a thousand and accounting for how individual gases behave can skew emission metrics.

“The way that we view methane today versus the way we viewed it 10 or even five or two years ago has changed drastically.”

Mitloehner’s research has helped reduce California’s dairy industry emissions by 25 percent in less than a decade as cows have become more efficient, more anaerobic digesters have been installed, and cow numbers have dropped.

“I believe that within the next 10, 15, at the most 20 years, the dairy sector in this country will be climate neutral.”

He’s also studying a feed additive that’s meant to improve performance of cattle and has an added benefit of reducing methane emissions, but says it’s not on the market yet.

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