给儿童的双语新闻 - 科学 - 牛是温室效应的元凶？

Today's quote: We all die. The goal is not to live forever. The goal is to create something that will.

- Chuck Palahniuk

今日名言：我们都难逃一死。活着并非为了不朽，而是为了创造不朽。- 恰克 帕拉尼克

Got gas? Cows do! - by Brian McGrath (TFK)

Cows release toxic gas into the air.  One cow can release up to 500 liters of methane each day. Cows produce more toxic gas than any other livestock. A change in their diet may help the planet.

给儿童的双语新闻 - 科学 - 牛是温室效应的元凶？

For centuries, farmers living near the ocean have been feeding their cows seaweed. Little did they realize that their animals' seaweed diet might be good for the planet.

As a cow digest food, its stomach produces methane. The greenhouse gas is a main cause of climate change. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, livestock, like cows and sheep, emit nearly 15% of the greenhouse gas caused by human activity. Animals real ease more toxic gas than the world's cars and airplanes combines. Worse, methane is 30 times more damaging to the environment than the global warming gas carbon dioxide or CO2.

Red Seaweed Solution

Scientists say adding seaweed to a cow's diet can reduce the amount of toxic gas it releases. Rob Kinley, of James Cook University, in Australia, is one of the scientists researching the seaweed diet. He tested more than 40 kinds of ocean plants before finding a red algae he calls "super seaweed".

Cows that eat the plant release 99% less methane than other cows. "This is a huge punch to emissions from agriculture." Kinley told TFK. Kinley says red seaweed only needs to make up 2% of a cow's diet for it to work. The problem: there is not enough red algae to feed the world's 1.5 billion cows. "Whoever can grow it would be a real pioneer." Kinley said.

给儿童的双语新闻 - 科学 - 牛是温室效应的元凶？

The farming industry is eager to get started. But Kinley says more testing is needed to determine the full range of benefits seaweed might offer. "The complete elimination of methane without negative impacts on the production of milk and beef." He says," that's the best you can ever get."

*The above news from TFK.

牛会释放有毒气体到空气中，一头牛每天最高可释放500升的甲烷，比其它任何牲畜都要多。而改变他们的饮食可能就会大有帮助。

几个世纪以来，居住在沿海附近的农民一直用海藻来作为牛的饲料。他们应该并不知道这样对地球可能是利事一桩。

牛在消化食物时，其胃部就会产生甲烷。而温室效应气体（二氧化碳、甲烷等）是全球气候变化的主要原因。根据联合国食品和农业组织的报告，在人类引起的温室效应气体中，牛羊这样的牲畜排放量占了15%。动物们比全世界的汽车和飞机共同排放的有毒气体都要多。更糟的是，甲烷对环境的破坏比二氧化碳要高出30倍。

红海藻解决方案

科学家表示在牛的饮食中加入海藻就会减少其有毒气体的排放。澳大利亚詹姆斯库克大学的罗伯 金利是研究海藻饮食的科学家之一。他测试了40种不同的海洋植物，直到找到一种他名为“超级海藻”的红色海藻。

牛在吃了这种海藻后，其甲烷的排放量比其它牛降低了99%。“这会大大减少农业温室效应气体的排放。”金利这样告诉时代周刊少儿版的记者。

金利表示红海藻只需占牛饲料的2%就会起到作用，因为没有足够的红海藻来喂养全世界15亿头牛。“若谁能种植这种红海藻的话，那可是真正的先驱了。”金利如是说。

因此农业这方面非常期待能着手操作起来。但是金利也表示需要进行更多的测试来证明海藻是一个全方位的解决方案。“在彻底排除甲烷释放的前提下，不影响牛奶和牛肉的品质，”金利说，“这就是最棒的了。”

*以上新闻来源于TFK时代周刊儿童版