(Edward Konecnik, Contributor, The American Dossier)
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has resurrected the notion that eating beef is destroying the planet. In 2010, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), urged the world to go vegan, claiming in a report: “Animal products cause more damage than producing construction minerals such as sand or cement, plastics or metals. Biomass and crops for animals are as damaging as burning fossil fuels.”
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN found that the methane released once cows slowly digest greens may account for up to 18% of Europe’s greenhouse gasses. Ireland, Denmark and other EU nations even proposed taxing cattle owners on cow flatulence. As our government gets deeper into debt, we can only speculate on what it will tax next in order to raise revenue.
Because of how cows digest their food, they release a lot of methane through belching so the methane is actually burped, not farted. Methane is a greenhouse gas but still a very minor one compared to the two more common major greenhouse gasses, carbon dioxide and water vapor. The UC Santa Barbara ScienceLine reports "we still aren't entirely certain just what the role of carbon dioxide is in global warming, so I think it's safe to say that we can't really say what the significance of methane is either." Scientific facts are not subject to a vote or consensus. The controversial debate about global warming is a result of contradictory findings of some scientists who found little or no warming while others predict global cooling.
There are legitimate concerns surrounding the manipulation of inconclusive hotly debated scientific findings to induce guilt and extort fees. Even if our government taxes all cow flatulence, as well as mine, it will not make a difference considering the population of cows and people on the planet, not to mention termites and volcanoes.
Mother Nature is what she is and will always be a source of wonder and puzzlement. Our planet has warmed, cooled, nourished dinosaurs, witnessed meteor impacts and ice ages that occurred and vanished without the benefit of mankind's interference. I recycle my trash, reuse shopping bags, monitor my thermostat and use energy wisely but I am not convinced the planet would be significantly impacted if I drove a Prius and my farts were taxed.
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