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Nation 10 Commentary | 11 Bozell's Column | 12 Cartoons | 13 Fact-O-Rama! Like many other Western countries, New Zealand has signed onto the Kyoto Protocol, an international treaty that aims to reduce the emission of CO2 and other "greenhouse gases," which some scientists believe causes global warming. Kyoto requires specified countries to meet greenhouse gas reduction quotas. Unlike the rest of those countries, most of the greenhouse gases contributed by New Zealand are not CO2 from heavy industries, but gases such as methane emitted from both ends of sheep and cattle, and nitrous oxide from their dung and urine. New Zealand has just four million people, but 45 million sheep and around 10 million head of cattle. Together with commercial goats and deer, the animals are responsible for more than 40 percent of the total greenhouse gases produced. The farmers' organization is strongly opposed to the government proposal, he said, and was joining affiliated sectors such as meat marketing bodies to try to block it. Also, the government had signed up to Kyoto on behalf of the entire country, Lambie said. If it now wanted to pursue research in this area, the money should come from all New Zealanders via taxes, not from farmers alone. Windy beasts More intriguing concerns have to do with the research itself. If the research is aimed at finding ways of cutting back on the livestock emission problem, it can theoretically either find another, more efficient use for the gas; Furthermore, New Zealand customers have a reputation for being highly suspicious about food safety issues and many are strongly opposed to genetic manipulation. Any attempt to fiddle around with the way the animals' digestive systems work could raise an outcry, he said. In Europe, an individual cow produces less methane than its New Zealand counterpart because the European animal's diet is both different and less nutritious. The average dairy cow in New Zealand produces around 90 kilograms of methane a year, equivalent in energy to 120 liters of gasoline. Changing the diet in New Zealand, he argued, could end up costing the country more in the long run. That research may produce technologies and practices that will enable farmers to "increase productivity or reduce production costs," it says in a discussion document. Other opposition parties enthusiastically joined the fray. In a statement headlined "Flatulence Tax Just Government Hot Air," ACT New Zealand, a small conservative party, urged farmers to strongly resist the move. The tax proposal was "utter nonsense and should be abandoned immediately," it said. Lambie would not be drawn on one other, absorbing question. One of the main reasons cited by President Bush and Australian Prime Minister John Howard for rejecting Kyoto is the fact it does not place demands on developing countries to reduce their emissions. But with experts arguing that methane is having a considerably greater effect on climate change than CO2, China may be getting off lightly on another front too. While New Zealand's 45 million sheep vastly outnumber its small human population, it pales in comparison to China, which has 290 million sheep. The latest versions are available from the respective companies web sites.
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