Cattle burping while chowing on feed in California’s San Joaquin Valley generated plumes of a powerful greenhouse gas that have been detected by satellites for the first time, shedding light on how agriculture may be contributing to climate change.
Methane emissions from the Bear 5 feedlot near Bakersfield ranged from 443 kilograms (977 pounds) to 668 kilograms per hour on Feb. 2, according to GHGSat Inc., which owns high-resolution satellites. If those emissions are sustained for a year, the cattle would release 5,116 tons of gas, enough to power 15,402 homes, the Montreal-based company said in a statement.
