Japan’s greenhouse gas emissions hit a record high making Japan the world’s fifth-largest CO2 producer and putting them at risk of an embarrassing failure to meet its Kyoto target over the next four years. The increase of 2.3 percent last year was largely due to the closure of Japan’s biggest nuclear power plant after an earthquake.

Emissions rose to 1.371 billion metric tons of CO2 equivalent in the Japanese fiscal year through March. The year before Japan finally saw a decline of 1.3 percent decline. Japan needs to cut emissions by an estimated 13.5 percent to hit its 2008-2012 target under Kyoto of down 6 percent from 1990 levels.

The task of cutting emissions may be its worst since the onset of a global recession, a diversion of governments’ focus away from climate change the investment needed.

Japan is not going to make their goal.

Source: Yahoo!

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Pretty odd I must say, but a recent study revealed that if Australia is going to farm kangaroos instead of cattle and sheep (to remove 36 million sheep and 7 million cattle by 2020), that could lower the overall greenhouse gases by 3 percent each year. Do you think it’s that simple?

First of all, Australians won’t understand that killing kangaroos for food is good for the environment. It’s more like a matter of taste than a matter of global warming, and my bet is people are not yet prepared to switch to an all-kangaroo diet. Would you eat kangaroo meat just because they produce negligible amounts of methane?

The other problem, which is just as big is the kangaroo-image, over Austsalian peopl. Changing the way people think is not going to be done overnight and certainly not just with ad campaigns because the kangaroo is actually, the national icon.

The study which revealed all these said that “using kangaroos to produce low-emission meat is an option for the Australian rangelands … and could even have global application,” said the study. Do you agree?

Image courtesy of t3rmin4t0r

Because scientists think (know) more than half of New Zealand’s greenhouse gases are from massive amounts of methane produced from sheep, cattle and deer farts, those same scientists decided to turn off the gas valve genetically.

So they did. The Kiwis have managed to map the genome causing those animal belches and gas. Meaning, they have the cure for cow farts? Maybe.

“Our agricultural research organisation just last week was able to map the genome … that causes methane in ruminant animals and we believe we can vaccinate against flatulent emissions” said Phil Goff, New Zealand’s trade minister.

Though I’m not sure if the government numbers are right, New Zealand’s 45 million sheep and 10 million cattle may have farted and burped contributing more than 90-percent of the country’s methane emissions. This is huge, not to mention the environmental problems it may be causing.

We’ll have to see what the Kiwis will do to the animals to stop them from doing their needs. Cow pills, cow psychologists or a plug maybe ?

Original image at skinnyde