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  1. Legion —

    If you want to talk about scary biological engineering…. They have been experimenting with kangaroos because they don’t produce methane. Scientists are trying to figure out how to introduce this unique enzyme into the digestive systems of cows.

    A brave new world. Yikes!

  2. quote:
    Is that were guys get “serviced” or just a discreet pee pee place?

    ew. i dont know. it’s not really that discrete of an area, but the trees are big enough to be able to hide behind and pee on. i have never seen guys getting services in that area. and ew @ the thought of park perverts lingering in the bushes.

    *rob*

  3. “If, however, the hypothesis of carbon neutrality6 were correct, the
    expected probabilities of observing a sink or source would be equal
    and around one-half, the average sink strength for a random
    ensemble of forests 200 years old and above would be zero and the
    mean CO2 release from heterotrophic respiration would equal the
    mean CO2 sequestration through NPP (thus, the ratio of heterotrophic
    respiration to NPP would be approximately one).

    However, we observe this ratio to be well below one on average
    (Fig. 1b) and not to increase with age. Hence, all three quantitative
    tests fail to support the hypothesis of carbon neutrality. The currently
    available data consistently indicate that carbon accumulation continues
    in forests that are centuries old.

    In fact, young forests rather than old-growth forests are very often
    conspicuous sources of CO2 (Fig. 1a) because the creation of new
    forests (whether naturally or by humans) frequently follows disturbance
    to soil and the previous vegetation, resulting in a decomposition
    rate of coarse woody debris, litter and soil organic matter (measured
    as heterotrophic respiration) that exceeds the NPP of the
    regrowth2,17–22”

    http://bk.ly/rJv

  4. Cobble, interesting reading. A couple of quick responses and then I really do have to go pay the bills here.

    Tree harvesting does not necessarily mean clearcutting, and properly done does not lead to any loss of topsoil or erosion. There isn’t even any need to plant trees, as trees are very efficient seed factories that regenerate themselves very well. Google “shelterwood cut” and “seed tree cut” for some examples of responsible silviculture.

    The last paragraph makes perfect sense and is not inconsistent with what I have been saying. My proposal is not at all inconsistent with sustainable forestry. In fact, that’s the smartest way to go about it. There are a lot of very responsible ways to remove old growth trees and let new trees grow.

  5. By Petebklyn on May 11, 2010 3:58 PM

    I can’t believe that the new prime minister has to go to the queen for approval or whatever. How effing humiliating.

    I’m sure lesbiman has had to approve of a lot of things you wanted to do.

  6. cobble,
    that’s the longest post you’ve ever made!
    how about this other alternative:

    Beano for Sheep.

    methane is another of those pesky greenhouse gasses.
    Sheep produce tons of the stuff while feeding on the
    hills of New Zealand.
    feed them a Beano pill every day and cut Methane emissions
    by half, I figure. 😉

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