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Comment 32 for Agriculture Comments for the GHG Scoping Plan (sp-agriculture-ws) - 1st Workshop.
First Name: Susan
Last Name: Barney
Email Address: susangbarney@yahoo.com
Affiliation:
Subject: Reduce More Methane to Buy Time in Global Warming Flight
Comment:
I recommend we follow in the footsteps of Taiwan (No Meat No Heat initiative led to Government recommend eating less meat as one of top 10 personal actions people can take to reduce emissions), Queensland, Australia (Low Carbon Diet recommends reduced meat and dairy), and University of California-San Francisco (banning red meat from school cafeterias, functions and hospital). According to Dr. Kirk Smith, UC-Berkeley, IPCC panel member and member of US National Academy of Sciences, many earth scientists are beginning to realize that with global warming happening faster than previous estimates, we can buy ourselves critical time by reducing methane. Why? 1) Methane's global warming potential (GWP) is 62 to 72 times more potent than CO2 over a 20 year period according to the IPCC. Most reports use the estimate of methane as being 21 - 26 times more potent over a 100 year period. But global warming is happening too fast for us to use 100 year estimates. 2. Methane's Atmospheric Lifetime is 9 to 15 years, meaning it dissipates from the atmosphere in 9 to 15 years. CO2 has an atmospheric lifetime of centuries, possibly more than a thousand years. So if we place more emphasis on methane, we see a much faster reduction of emissions in the air. You may have noticed that the atmospheric lifetime is only 9 - 15 years and yet the global warming potential (GWP) is 62 - 72 at 20 years and 23 to 26 at 100 years. According to Dr. Michael Prather (also on IPCC) from UC-Irvine, the methane RESIDUAL is what is causing the GWP at 20 and 100 years. There is apparently no measurement for the global warming potential at 10 years or 5 years when the methane is still in the atmosphere. this means methane is FAR more warming than our current estimates, and underscores the importance of placing a greater emphasis on reducing methane relative to CO2. As you are aware, the single largest source of methane in California and the US is livestock. The Livestock group at the UN's FAO issued "Livestock's Long Shadow" finding that livestock cause 18% of global warming. this assumes methane has a GWP of 23 times CO2. But if you use a GWP of 68 over 20 years, the livestock industry becomes responsible for 24 % of global warming. And we can only imagine what the GWP of methane is in time periods when the methane is not a residual (ie under 15 years). I highly recommend that we reduce methane by encouraging a vegan diet, banning meat and dairy from California government (including schools, prisons) and encouraging our creative chefs to use their talents to come up with good dishes to put on menus to help us all find good foods to make the transition. In conclusion, I seek to answer two questions you might have. 1) Will people meet their nutritional needs on a vegetarian diet? From "Position of the American Dietetics Association and the Dietitians of Canada: Vegetarian Diets" "Well-planned vegan and other types of vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood and adolescence." Source: http://www.eatright.org/ada/files/vegnp.pdf 2. Will people like it? For those doubting they will enjoy the taste, I submit Oprah Winfrey's entry to her blog during her 21 day vegan cleanse, which eliminated all animal products, wheat, grains containing gluten, alcohol and sugar: "Wow, wow, wow! I never imagined meatless meals could be so satisfying. I had been focused on what I had to give up—sugar, gluten, alcohol, meat, chicken, fish, eggs, cheese. "What's left?" I thought. Apparently a lot. I can honestly say every meal was a surprise and a delight, beginning with breakfast—strawberry rhubarb wheat-free crepes." SOURCE: http://www.oprah.com/article/food/healthyeating/pkgoprahscleanse/20080521_orig_cleanse_blog2 Thank you very much. Susan Barney
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Date and Time Comment Was Submitted: 2008-09-29 21:42:43
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