From Guy Cox
Kirk Smith’s reply to Graham Faichney’s well-reasoned letter about the place of biogenic methane in the carbon cycle, and hence its diminished impact on climate change misses some important points (8 August, p 24).
Wetlands are being drained for farming, thereby permanently removing large sources of methane. Loss of carbon to the atmosphere from forest clearance is always included in the budget for the greenhouse cost of farming. Logically, methane reduction from wetland drainage should appear as a credit in this budget, reducing the carbon footprint of agriculture.
The methane myth is a clever ploy by the fossil fuel lobbyists, who know the green movement contains many vegetarians who will fall for it. Cattle and sheep grazing may be an inefficient way to feed people – though much of it happens on land that is of no use for anything else – but it is not a substantial contributor to global warming.
Sydney, Australia
