Looks nice, doesn't it? But according to the New Scientist, rice fields are a massive source of methane, a greenhouse gas that's more potent than carbon dioxide.What can be done? Weaning Taiwanese off rice is even less likely than weaning them off air-conditioning.
Converting the land into forests would be good for Taiwan's CO2 situation, but would surely add millions of food miles, as replacement rice would have to come from Thailand, Vietnam or the USA. Even if that weren't an issue, the rising price of food guarantees they'll be no cuts in local agricultural production in the near future.
2 comments:
But I assume rice fields produce less methane than, say, cows? And people have to eat something...
Yes, I believe cows are the worst offenders. I'd like to know how many people a hectare of rice can feed, compared to a hectare of, say, wheat. If it can feed significantly more people - thereby releasing land for other purposes, such as forestry - the methane emissions may be the lesser of two evils.
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