Re: Cows and sheep

On 6 Mar 2007 04:22:15 -0800, "Daryl Krupa" <icycalmca@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

On Mar 4, 11:57?am, isw <i...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Not sure if this is the proper group, but if not, I hope someone will
point me to a better one.

I'm looking for info on how the population of cows and sheep (and all
other grazing animals, if it's available) has changed over time -- at
least the past few hundred years; more if possible.

Pointers to information sources will be fine. Google was not at all
helpful, but perhaps it's because I didn't know how to frame the
question.

I just want to know how the total number of grazers has changed over
time. And yes, it's about bio-methane production.

thanks, Isaac

Table IV-7, here, is a start:

http://www.fao.org/WAIRDOCS/LEAD/X6120E/x6120e02.htm

To estimate changes in ruminant populations over time, you might
have to look at changes in land cover: forest vs. rangeland, for
instance.
"Grazing animals" is not what you want; "ruminants" are the sort of
animals that produce methane.

Re: "bio-methane production": that is a term I had not seen before,
and it confuses me, as I had thought that on this planet all
significant methane production was biological in origin.

What is the definition of "bio-methane", please, Isaac?

It is a common misaprehension that terrestial methane is produced only
in biological processes. In fact, clouds of methane are found in space
and, for example, Saturn's moon 'Titan' has rivers of methane. See
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn6910

Methane has also been found on Mars and it is only tentatively being
suggested as evidence of life. There is some evidence for Gold's
theory that methane has been incorporated in the earth since its
inception.



Eric Stevens
.