The world of environmental sustainability is vivid, diverse, and sometimes crazy. According to the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development, environmental sustainability can be defined as the capacity to improve the quality of human life while remaining in the capacity of Earth's natural resources and supporting ecosystems (United Nations). If you find this definition seems broad, that is because it is. Environmental sustainability can range from small lifestyle changes, like replacing your plastic grocery bags with reusable ones, to enormous projects, like cleaning the bottom of the ocean floor. In this writing, I will be discussing a sustainability project that falls somewhere in the middle of that scale. Remember how I mentioned that environmental sustainability is sometimes crazy, well, the sustainability project I will be evaluating is titled "methane backpacks," which is a project that was developed in Argentina.
The details of the backpack technology can be found later in the reading; however, to sum things up, methane backpacks are backpacks that cattle wear to capture the methane they produce. The procedure of a cow wearing a backpack to capture their flatulence seems a bit crazy to imagine. I am quite sure that you are asking many questions to yourself, how is this possible?, who would even think about this?, and why is this a thing? Just keep reading and you will find out. I will specifically examine why methane production is such a problem in regards to development, materials and technology of the methane backpack, disposal of methane, and atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide and methane. By evaluating these aspects, I will determine if a methane capturing backpack can be an environmentally sustainable agriculture solution in Argentina.
I will be using a variety of helpful resources as a guide throughout this writing. The article, "Gas Bags "from Geographical Magazine Ltd. and "Cow Backpacks Trap Methane Gas" from Phys News offer great resources for providing information about the methane backpack, explaining how they work and the process involved with the technology. "Temporal and Spatial Variability of Nitrous Oxide Emissions from Agriculture in Argentina" explains the variety of greenhouse gases in Argentina. "Agriculture Adjustment, Land-Use Transition and Protected Areas in Northwestern Argentina" explains how land is used in Argentina, including agriculture, while also providing percentages. "The Influence of the Dairy Cows Feeding on the Methane and Carbon Dioxide Equivalent Emissions" from Manure explains the specific effects cattle have on methane and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The United Nations website, sustainabledevelopment.un.org helps us understand sustainability as a whole and the important sustainability goals. Statista Research department provides lots of information like cattle numbers, agricultural land use, and more. Lastly, the Human Development Reports helps us understand development in Argentina.
Argentina is considered a developing country. We know this by evaluating their Human Development Index. Argentina ranks 46th in the world with a HDI of 0.845 (Human Development Reports). See the report below.
Image 1: HDI in Argentina (Human Development Reports)
With the development of Argentina underway, population is also currently rising with no prediction to slow down. As you can see in the chart below, population has been increasing from 2018 and predicts growth all the way through 2026. All of this growth is caused by the idea of modern development. Population growth requires increase of food production, job opportunities, and economy. This development is causing environmental impacts. One of the largest environmental impacts of modern development in Argentina is caused from agriculture and cattle farming (Catsesana), which we will evaluate further in the reading. Chart 1: Population in Argentina (Human Development Reports)
To begin, we should evaluate the prevalence of agriculture and cattle farming in Argentina.
Map 1: Land Use in Argentina (Izquierdo).
There are five main land uses in Argentina that is noted in the map above. The categories include: forrest, mountain -bare land use, inland fishing, crop land, and pastoral land. The forest portion is indicated by a green tree placemark, mountain land is indicated by the purple mountain placemark, inland fishing is indicated by the blue fish placemark, crop land is indicated by the yellow row placemark, and pastoral land is indicated by the red cattle placemark. Through this map, one can see the prevalence and location of each category. It is also apparent that pastoral land takes and utilizes a very large portion of land in Argentina.
Chart 2: Agricultural Land Use in Argentina By Type From 2010-2016 (%).
Data Source: Statista Research Dept.
Based on the chart above, the top three agricultural land uses in Argentina are forest, meadows and pastures, and arable and cropland. Out of the three, meadows and pastures rank highest throughout 2010-2016 at around 40 percent of Argentina's agricultural land. This is also apparent by looking at the interactive web map. With that being said, meadows and pastures is the only category that did not change from 2010-2016. The arable and cropland category showed a slight increase then a slight decrease. The meadow and pasture category, however, displayed no fluctuation. Forest land use in Argentina has steadily decreased from 2010-2016 from 10.40% to 9.80% (Statista Research Department).
From this information, we can draw conclusions that cattle and pastureland is not decreasing. However, forest land use is decreasing. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, soy farming was the number one source of deforestation in Argentina. However, cattle farming has recently pushed its way to the top of the chart, becoming the number one source of deforestation in Argentina as of 2020 (Jorgelina Hiba).
Chart 3: Number of Cattle in Argentina from 2010-2022 (in million heads)
Data Source: Statista Research Dept.
The chart above is displaying the number of cattle in Argentina from 2010-2022. The cattle is measured by million heads in the chart. It is apparent that the number of cattle has not been a steady slope for the past 12 years. There are slight increases and slight decreases throughout the timeline. However, if we evaluate the added linear feature on the map, noted by the dotted blue line, it is apparent that number of cattle has increased overall from the years 2010-2022. In 2010, there was approximately 11.5 million cows in Argentina. Currently, in 2022, there is approximately 14.2 million cows in Argentina. That is a 2.7 million increase within a timeline of 12 years (Statista).
Now that the prevalence of agriculture and cattle farming in Argentina is understood, the question can be asked, why does this matter? Well, cattle is the number one agricultural source of greenhouse gases (Popa). From flatulence, cattle release a generous amount of methane into the air. Methane is one the most warming of all greenhouse gases (Popa).
Chart 4: Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Izquierda)
The chart above further explains the influence of agriculture on greenhouse gas emissions. Specifically, one can note that enteric fermentation ranks highest. Enteric fermentation is the natural digestive process in ruminant animals, specifically cattle, sheep, buffalo, and more (Gas Bags). This information proves that cattle farming is a large cause of greenhouse gas emissions in Argentina.
To try and offer a unique solution to the issue of cow flatulence and greenhouse gas emissions, the methane backpack was introduced by Argentina's governmental research body in 2014 with hopes of combating the issue. The methane backpack can be considered a grassroot initiative, because it has a goal of reducing waste production. The backpack is strapped on to the back of the cow, the backpack has a cannula tube that is connected to the digestive tract of the cow. The cannula tube directly collects any methane produced from the digestive tract. The cannula tube runs from the cows' rumen into a very light inflatable bag, which captures the methane (Gas Bags). The backpack is noted to be very light and comfortable for the cow. However, to insert the tube into the digestive tract, the cow is sedated. This is done for the safety of the cattle and the individual inserting it. The methane backpack is able to capture 1200 liters of various gases. After seperating, they are able to capture 250 to 300 liters of methane daily (Gas Bags).
Image 2: Cow Wearing Methane Backpack (Gas Bags)
But now that the methane is captured in the backpack, how is the methane disposed? This is actually the most interesting part. Professionals are able to collect the methane, compress and store it in containers, and use it as usable energy (Zyga). This energy can be used to power a fridge, heat a building, or even power a vehicle. So, this backpack is actually combatting two important issues, reducing greenhouse gases and creating a sustainable energy source.
Unfortunately, there are no large and long-term studies of the use of methane backpacks. This is because veterinarians and other professionals are trying to ensure that this procedure is completely safe for the cattle (Zyga). However, by evaluating the small studies, we can predict long term effects. If the backpack can capture 250 liters of methane daily from one cow, approximately 4,900,000,000 liters of methane can be collected in one day from all the cattle in Argentina. That captured methane would greatly decrease the amount of greenhouse gas emissions while also providing sustainable energy in Argentina.
We can conclude that environmental sustainability is extremely broad and diverse. Sometimes, it takes crazy solutions to solve problems. Even though a thought might seem strange, it can actually be a world-saving idea. Greenhouse gas emissions, specifically produced by cattle, is a real problem in Argentina. With modern development brings more pasture land to provide food and job opportunities for the growing population. With the help of veterinarians, environmental specialists, energy experts, and other professionals, methane backpacks can be the next revolutionary sustainability project.
REFERENCES:
Castesana, P. S., Vázquez-Amábile, G., Dawidowski, L. H., & Gómez, D. R. (2020). "Temporal and spatial variability of nitrous oxide emissions from agriculture in Argentina". Carbon Management, 11(3), 251–263. https://doi-org.libezp.lib.lsu.edu/10.1080/17583004.2020.1750229
"Gas Bags". (2016). Geographical (Geographical Magazine Ltd.), 88(4), 8–9.
Human Development Reports. (n.d.). Retrieved April 24, 2022, from https://hdr.undp.org/en/data
Izquierdo, A. E., & Grau, H. R. (2009). "Agriculture adjustment, land-use transition and protected areas in Northwestern Argentina". Journal of Environmental Management, 90(2), 858–865. https://doi-org.libezp.lib.lsu.edu/10.1016/j.jenvman.2008.02.013
Jorgelina Hiba November 16, 2. (2021, November 16). "Livestock Farming in Argentina Seeks a More Sustainable Horizon". Retrieved April 22, 2022, from https://dialogochino.net/en/agriculture/48446-livestock-farming-in-argentina-seeks-a-more-sustainable-horizon/
POPA, D., MARIN, M., VIDU, L., NICOLAE, C. G., POPA, R., & BĂLĂNESCU, M. (2021). "The Influence of the Dairy Cows Feeding on the Methane and Carbon Dioxide Equivalent Emissions from Manure". Scientific Papers: Series D, Animal Science - The International Session of Scientific Communications of the Faculty of Animal Science, 64(2), 122–126.
Published by Statista Research Department, & 14, A. (2022, April 14). "Land Area Use By Type Argentina". Statista. Retrieved April 26, 2022, from www.statista.com/statistics/1098663/uses-of-land-argentina/
United Nations. (n.d.). "WCED .:. sustainable development knowledge platform". United Nations. Retrieved April 24, 2022, from https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/milestones/wced
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