The Australian government has announced a multimillion dollar investment in research on reducing gas emissions from farm animals as part of the fight against global warming.
Methane gas from livestock flatulence accounts for about 12 percent of the country’s annual greenhouse gas emissions, Australian Agriculture Minister Tony Burke said as he launched the A$26.8 million (US$17.4 million) project.
The emissions from 120 million sheep, cows and goats comprise the country’s third-largest source of gases blamed for climate change, he said in a statement received yesterday.
A beef cow expells the equivalent of around 1,500kg of carbon per year, the statement said. Most carbon pollution is produced by the burning of fossil fuels such as oil and coal.
Researchers will explore changing diets and chemical and biological controls of stomach bacteria to reduce methane production, as well as genetic approaches such as selective breeding.
“We will invest in science to ensure that productivity grows while the industry adapts to lower emissions, particularly as the world food shortage continues,” Burke said.
BEYOND WASHINGTON: Although historically the US has been the partner of choice for military exercises, Jakarta has been trying to diversify its partners, an analyst said Indonesia’s first joint military drills with Russia this week signal that new Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto would seek a bigger role for Jakarta on the world stage as part of a significant foreign policy shift, analysts said. Indonesia has long maintained a neutral foreign policy and refuses to take sides in the Russia-Ukraine conflict or US-China rivalry, but Prabowo has called for stronger ties with Moscow despite Western pressure on Jakarta. “It is part of a broader agenda to elevate ties with whomever it may be, regardless of their geopolitical bloc, as long as there is a benefit for Indonesia,” said Pieter
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Pets are not forgotten during Mexico’s Day of the Dead celebrations, when even Fido and Tiger get a place at the altars Mexican families set up to honor their deceased loved ones, complete with flowers, candles and photographs. Although the human dead usually get their favorite food or drink placed on altars, the nature of pet food can make things a little different. The holiday has roots in Mexican pre-Hispanic customs, as does the reverence for animals. The small, hairless dogs that Mexicans kept before the Spanish conquest were believed to help guide their owners to the afterlife, and were sometimes given
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