Experts target rice as climate culprit

[CMF Newsman]

BANGKOK, Thailand - As delegates to a climate conference here debate how to reduce greenhouse gases, one of the problems — and a possible solution — lies in the rice fields that cover much of Thailand, the rest of Asia and beyond.

Methane emissions from flooded rice paddies contribute to global warming just as coal-fired power plants, automobile exhausts and other sources do with the carbon dioxide they spew into the atmosphere.

In fact, the report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change meeting this week in Bangkok concludes that rice production was a main cause of rising methane emissions in the 20th century. It calls for better controls.

"There is no other crop that is emitting such a large amount of greenhouse gases," said Reiner Wassmann, a climate change specialist at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines.

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[traveler]

Well, all the rice eating tree huggers are gonna love this one...

Personally, I think this is a conspiracy brought about by the rice paddy owners of the world who are trying to drive up prices. Brilliant move on their part.

I wonder if brown rice or white rice is causing a bigger problem? Hmmm....

When I first read the headline, I thought it was referring to Condoleeza....which would not have surprised me as much as this did.

[Felix]

Perhaps we should advise Mayor Belittlefield, who has just announced an environmental initiative for cities. He could amend his proposal to include these heinous rice paddies. The City Forester could buy some hip waders for paddy inspections.

I'm sorry, climate change is a serious subject, but these piecemeal announcements of yet another possible source of greenhouse gasses undermine the credibility of all those genuinely concerned.

[daworm]

Which again reiterates what I've said for years. Climatologists can show the temperature is changing fairly easily, but none of them can tell you why.

[Deleted]

As Dad would have put it, "Because I said so."

[traveler]

I'm sorry, climate change is a serious subject, but these piecemeal announcements of yet another possible source of greenhouse gasses undermine the credibility of all those genuinely concerned.

Agreed Marvell.

Climatologists can show the temperature is changing fairly easily, but none of them can tell you why.

Yep

[Longshot! [ Saint ]]

...And all demand we change the EARTH to suit US, instead of US adapting to IT like 'Humanity' has had to do so for the last few hundred thousand years.

I never see this posted though, so maybe I am the moron here. Never hurts to explore such.

[Copperhead]

What about eating beans as a contributing factor to greenhouse gasses? All of the methane spewed into the air by bean-eaters, well, that has to be a vital area where society could band together to decrease our air pollution via the human biological production of methane. We could even curb bovine methane production, all with one simple step:

BEANO for Everyone!