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：我們都難逃一死。活著并非為了不朽，而是為了創(chuàng)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.
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.
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.
牛會(huì)釋放有毒氣體到空氣中，一頭牛每天最高可釋放500升的甲烷，比其它任何牲畜都要多。而改變他們的飲食可能就會(huì)大有幫助。
幾個(gè)世紀(jì)以來，居住在沿海附近的農(nóng)民一直用海藻來作為牛的飼料。他們應(yīng)該并不知道這樣對(duì)地球可能是利事一樁。
牛在消化食物時(shí)，其胃部就會(huì)產(chǎn)生甲烷。而溫室效應(yīng)氣體（二氧化碳、甲烷等）是全球氣候變化的主要原因。根據(jù)聯(lián)合國(guó)食品和農(nóng)業(yè)組織的報(bào)告，在人類引起的溫室效應(yīng)氣體中，牛羊這樣的牲畜排放量占了15%。動(dòng)物們比全世界的汽車和飛機(jī)共同排放的有毒氣體都要多。更糟的是，甲烷對(duì)環(huán)境的破壞比二氧化碳要高出30倍。
紅海藻解決方案
科學(xué)家表示在牛的飲食中加入海藻就會(huì)減少其有毒氣體的排放。澳大利亞詹姆斯庫(kù)克大學(xué)的羅伯 金利是研究海藻飲食的科學(xué)家之一。他測(cè)試了40種不同的海洋植物，直到找到一種他名為“超級(jí)海藻”的紅色海藻。
牛在吃了這種海藻后，其甲烷的排放量比其它牛降低了99%。“這會(huì)大大減少農(nóng)業(yè)溫室效應(yīng)氣體的排放。”金利這樣告訴時(shí)代周刊少兒版的記者。
金利表示紅海藻只需占牛飼料的2%就會(huì)起到作用，因?yàn)闆]有足夠的紅海藻來喂養(yǎng)全世界15億頭牛。“若誰能種植這種紅海藻的話，那可是真正的先驅(qū)了。”金利如是說。
因此農(nóng)業(yè)這方面非常期待能著手操作起來。但是金利也表示需要進(jìn)行更多的測(cè)試來證明海藻是一個(gè)全方位的解決方案。“在徹底排除甲烷釋放的前提下，不影響牛奶和牛肉的品質(zhì)，”金利說，“這就是最棒的了。”
*以上新聞來源于TFK時(shí)代周刊兒童版
