# Termites create more Greenhouse Gases Than Humans?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/termites-create-more-greenhouse-gases-than-humans/526102>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 23, 2010, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/termites-create-more-greenhouse-gases-than-humans/526102 "2010-01-23T11:35:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\
**Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/termites-create-more-greenhouse-gases-than-humans/526102/1 "2010-01-23T11:35:55Z")

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A while back I read of a biologist who measured the methane output of a termite mound-he found that these insects emit quite a bit of methane (bacteria in their gut digesting the wood they eat). He calculated that their output 9worldwide0 was a pretty large number.  
Anybody know about this? I’ve heard of sheep and cows emitting flatulent gases, but termites?

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**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\
**Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/termites-create-more-greenhouse-gases-than-humans/526102/2 "2010-01-23T11:40:24Z")

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Yes, I’ve heard that they produce plenty of methane, although no numbers offhand. Keep in mind that the problem isn’t the mere existence of greenhouse gases; without some greenhouse effect we’d freeze. The problem is that we are adding too much in addition to what would exist without us.

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**Author:** ![SmartAlecCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SmartAlecCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAlecCat)\
**Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/termites-create-more-greenhouse-gases-than-humans/526102/3 "2010-01-23T14:46:45Z")

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I believe their methane comes from renewable resources (part of the circle of life, so to speak), while humans are digging up carbon sequestered for a very long time and releasing it into the atmosphere.

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**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\
**Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/termites-create-more-greenhouse-gases-than-humans/526102/4 "2010-01-23T15:27:13Z")

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According to [this](http://www.epa.gov/methane/sources.html#natural), termites emit “between 20 and 29 Tg per year, making them the second largest natural source of methane emissions.” The United States alone produces 585.3 (TgCO2 Equivalents). I’m not certain Tg and TgCO2 Equivalents are the exact same thing, but I think we still win.

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**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/termites-create-more-greenhouse-gases-than-humans/526102/5 "2010-01-23T21:38:55Z")

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While methane is a more significant greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide on a per-weight or per-molecule basis, there’s also a heck of a lot more carbon dioxide than methane in the atmosphere, meaning that, on the whole, carbon dioxide is more significant.

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**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\
**Post date:** [January 24, 2010, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/termites-create-more-greenhouse-gases-than-humans/526102/6 "2010-01-24T00:27:03Z")

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I thought cow burps were #1.