# The Lil'Wrekker makes a GIANT statement about global warming
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lilwrekker-makes-a-giant-statement-about-global-warming/954015
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [November 9, 2021, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lilwrekker-makes-a-giant-statement-about-global-warming/954015 "2021-11-09T02:02:45Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2021, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lilwrekker-makes-a-giant-statement-about-global-warming/954015/1 "2021-11-09T02:02:45Z")
I’m not sure how factual it is. Or whether it’s a real thang.
She said that methane gas from big farming operations contribute to pollution and the break down of our atmosphere.
She says that’s why we shouldn’t eat beef.
This is a carryover from her vegan lifestyle that lasted about 45 mins, real time.
I said we need to eat more cows if they are causing trouble.
She rolled her eyes and stomped out of the kitchen with her hamburger that was made by cows, cooked by Mid-daugter.
Oh my. I’m in trouble now.🐄
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### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2021, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lilwrekker-makes-a-giant-statement-about-global-warming/954015/2 "2021-11-09T02:09:36Z")
She’s not entirely wrong about methane and cows. But, it’s a serious dilemma for someone who likes beef.
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### Author:  [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2021, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lilwrekker-makes-a-giant-statement-about-global-warming/954015/3 "2021-11-09T02:17:52Z")
Congrats to the Lil’Wrekker for being environmentally conscious. Yes, what she said is factual. Where it ranks on the scale of GW contributors is a judgment call, as it’s always a matter of “how bad are the effects?” versus “how easy are they to mitigate?”. It’s a fact that about 40% of atmospheric methane comes from agriculture. Methane is on one hand a much more powerful greenhouse gas than CO2, and on the other hand has a much shorter atmospheric lifetime than CO2. It’s a complicated balance, but, bless her, the Lil’Wrekker has the right idea. I myself am cutting way down on beef, as I’ve said elsewhere, but for many reasons, not just the environment.
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### Author:  [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2021, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lilwrekker-makes-a-giant-statement-about-global-warming/954015/4 "2021-11-09T05:37:21Z")
To help the environment, try a new plant based faux meat veggie burger (and not a bean vegan garden type burger).
Impossible burgers are pretty good actually. Ya might want to try that. Fat Burger, if you have that chain, have a tasty Fat Burger Impossible Burger. Not as good but still decent is the Burger King Impossible Whopper.
Personally, I _prefer_ the MorningStar Farms Veggie Sausage Patties to real sausage. YMMV
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### Author:  [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2021, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lilwrekker-makes-a-giant-statement-about-global-warming/954015/5 "2021-11-09T06:08:33Z")
I’ve never seen it answered but, plausibly, the cows are simply displacing other animals who would eat the grass and burp up methane in their place (or not - I don’t know).
As it is, we control most of this and we can feed the cows seaweed. It makes them largely methane free.
> **[How Eating Seaweed Can Help Cows to Belch Less Methane](https://e360.yale.edu/features/how-eating-seaweed-can-help-cows-to-belch-less-methane)**
>
> Emissions from the world's nearly 1.5 billion cattle are a major source of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Now, researchers in California and elsewhere are experimenting with seaweed as a dietary additive for cows that can dramatically cut their...
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### Author:  [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2021, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lilwrekker-makes-a-giant-statement-about-global-warming/954015/6 "2021-11-09T06:36:53Z")
I wonder if seaweed would work for my grandsons?
I raised my mix brood of children and yet I’ve never heard as much gas passing as I have since they’ve been here in my house.
I told their Mom they need to be checked out by a specialist or something.
It’s a seemingly unreal amount and always very funny, to themselves.
:smack:
P.S. the youngest has an uncanny and dubious distinction of being able to ‘fart’ on command.
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### Author:  [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2021, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lilwrekker-makes-a-giant-statement-about-global-warming/954015/7 "2021-11-09T07:50:07Z")
Farting on command has a great professional future. Call him flatulist, sounds much posher:
> **[Le Pétomane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_P%C3%A9tomane)**
>
> Pages for logged out editors learn more
>
> Joseph Pujol (June 1, 1857 – August 8, 1945), better known by his stage name Le Pétomane (/ləˈpɛtəmeɪn/, French pronunciation: \[ləpetɔman\]), was a French flatulist (professional farter) and entertainer. He was famous for his remarkable control of the abdominal muscles, which enabled him to seemingly fart at will. His stage name combines the French verb péter, "to fart" with the -mane, "-maniac" suffix, which translates to "fartomaniac". The prof...
And it goes way back in history:
> **[Roland the Farter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_the_Farter)**
>
> Pages for logged out editors learn more
>
> Roland the Farter (known in contemporary records as Roland le Fartere, Roulandus le Fartere or Roland le Petour) was a medieval flatulist who lived in twelfth-century England. Roland the Farter's given name was George.\[citation needed\] He was given Hemingstone manor in Suffolk and 30 acres (12 hectares) of land in return for his services as a jester for King Henry II. Each year he was obliged to perform "Unum saltum et siffletum et unum bumbulum" ...
There has been many a situation in my life where I would have loved to master that art. Alas! It was not to be.
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### Author:  [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2021, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lilwrekker-makes-a-giant-statement-about-global-warming/954015/8 "2021-11-09T13:11:29Z")
Governor Lé Petomane was the man who made Bart the first black sheriff in the West
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### Author:  [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2021, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lilwrekker-makes-a-giant-statement-about-global-warming/954015/9 "2021-11-09T15:09:40Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#):
>
> I’ve never seen it answered but, plausibly, the cows are simply displacing other animals who would eat the grass and burp up methane in their place (or not - I don’t know).
Human agriculture is as intensive as is possible, prioritizing high yields over robustness and variety. Nature is not.
There are vastly more land mammals that are livestock than wild, and don’t think that is entirely down to changed land use. [xkcd: Land Mammals](https://xkcd.com/1338/)
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### Author:  [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2021, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lilwrekker-makes-a-giant-statement-about-global-warming/954015/10 "2021-11-09T15:17:49Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#):
>
> I’ve never seen it answered but, plausibly, the cows are simply displacing other animals who would eat the grass and burp up methane in their place (or not - I don’t know).
The grass wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t being grown for agriculture, no joke. We specifically grow grass species selected for optimal cow growth (note- not cow health), which, as a side effect, increases methane production. There’s a fair bit of reasearch into different plant mixed to try and decrease methane while optimising growth- seaweed supplements can work, but it’s pretty complicated to grow at scale.
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### Author:  [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2021, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lilwrekker-makes-a-giant-statement-about-global-warming/954015/11 "2021-11-09T15:18:16Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#):
>
> To help the environment, try a new plant based faux meat veggie burger (and not a bean vegan garden type burger).
Out of curiosity - why not the latter? Are bean-burgers not better for the environment?
… and how are burgers made of beans not plant based?
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### Author:  [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2021, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lilwrekker-makes-a-giant-statement-about-global-warming/954015/12 "2021-11-09T15:22:27Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#):
>
> … and how are burgers made of beans not plant based?
It’s not that they aren’t plant-based; it’s that they aren’t plausible imitations of beef. They’ve got their own flavor and texture, which is fine, but someone jonesing for a beef burger will not find them satisfying.
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### Author:  [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2021, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lilwrekker-makes-a-giant-statement-about-global-warming/954015/13 "2021-11-09T15:54:18Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#):
>
> And it goes way back in history:
>
> [Roland the Farter - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_the_Farter)
Impressive, a true Chanson de Roland!
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### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2021, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lilwrekker-makes-a-giant-statement-about-global-warming/954015/14 "2021-11-09T15:55:22Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#):
>
> Call him flatulist, sounds much posher
Or “fartiste.” 😃
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### Author:  [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2021, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lilwrekker-makes-a-giant-statement-about-global-warming/954015/15 "2021-11-09T16:00:36Z")
[Beano for bovines.](https://content.sierraclub.org/grassrootsnetwork/team-news/2019/12/beano-bovines)
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### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2021, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lilwrekker-makes-a-giant-statement-about-global-warming/954015/16 "2021-11-09T16:03:15Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#):
>
> Impossible burgers are pretty good actually. Ya might want to try that. Fat Burger, if you have that chain, have a tasty Fat Burger Impossible Burger. Not as good but still decent is the Burger King Impossible Whopper.
The Impossible Burgers are pretty good, I agree. I recently discovered some “Buffalo Chik’n patties” from Morningstar Farms, which are really good – I make a sandwich with those and some melted cheese, and it’s delicious.
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### Author:  [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2021, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lilwrekker-makes-a-giant-statement-about-global-warming/954015/17 "2021-11-09T16:05:49Z")
> [@Filbert](#):
>
> The grass wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t being grown for agriculture, no joke.
But… What would have been there, otherwise?
> **[Scientists Zero in on Trees as a Surprisingly Large Source of Methane](https://e360.yale.edu/features/scientists-probe-the-surprising-role-of-trees-in-methane-emissions)**
>
> Recent research is showing that trees, especially in tropical wetlands, are a major source of the second most important greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, methane. The knowledge that certain woodlands are high methane emitters should help guide...
> **[GreenHouse Gas Online - Greenhouse Gas News, Research and Resources](http://www.ghgonline.org/methanetermite.htm)**
>
> Greenhouse Gas Online. Welcome to GHG online - Greenhouse Gas News, Research and Resources
> **[GreenHouse Gas Online - Greenhouse Gas News, Research and Resources](http://www.ghgonline.org/methanewetland.htm)**
>
> Greenhouse Gas Online. Welcome to GHG online - Greenhouse Gas News, Research and Resources
> **[California Wildfire Emission Estimates | California Air Resources Board](https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/wildfire-emissions)**
>
> November 18: Draft Report Available: California’s Historical Wildfire Activity before Modern Wildfire Suppression CARB staff has made the following report available for informal public comment and review. Please email your comments or questions...
> **[Wild ruminants burp methane, too](https://hoards.com/blog-3165-wild-ruminants-burp-methane-too.html)**
>
> Hoard's Dairyman reports that dairy and beef cattle often receive the brunt of the blame when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions. Initial research overstated their actual effect on the environment. But to see the total picture, we must also include...
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### Author:  [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2021, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lilwrekker-makes-a-giant-statement-about-global-warming/954015/18 "2021-11-09T16:12:37Z")
Well, that made me laugh out loud!
I did learn something from the Dope today.
I’m getting ‘beano’ for my lovely stinko grandsons. I wonder if I could put it in their morning cereal?
Experiments will be underway. I’ll let you know how it goes.
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### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2021, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lilwrekker-makes-a-giant-statement-about-global-warming/954015/19 "2021-11-09T16:17:50Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#):
>
> I’m getting ‘beano’ for my lovely stinko grandsons. I wonder if I could put it in their morning cereal?
BeanOats.
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### Author:  [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2021, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lilwrekker-makes-a-giant-statement-about-global-warming/954015/20 "2021-11-09T16:30:32Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#):
>
> But… What would have been there, otherwise?
Something else?
I mean, even if it did was previously the very specific habitat mentioned there, seasonally flooded tropical rainforest, it’s only emitting CO2e (standard measure taking CO2, methane and other warming gasses into consideration at appropriate levels) on balance for part of the year. And that’s just the living trees- wider wetlands can also be incredibly valuable long-term carbon stores, and incredibly microbially active. The fact that trees and wetlands can emit some methane is a)unsuprising and b)irrelevant in the larger scheme of things; they process a lot of carbon, and they store more than they emit.
They can’t possibly emit more carbon than they take in, unless they’re magicking carbon from nowhere. We’re the muppets who keep digging up all the long-term carbon stores; where does all the fertiliser come from to grow animal feed- because most of the cattle you’re eating sure aren’t spending their whole lives wandering around a grassy field- we grow feed for them. What are we using to transport the feed, transport the meat?
I’ve never seen a tree heading down a coal mine with a pickaxe…
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