When you hear the word ‘technology’, what comes to your mind?

Mobile phones? Rockets? Cars? Telescopes? Software programs?

Sure, the hand of technology is evident in these examples but it extends further to play a pivotal role in solving even the smallest problems, regardless of them being natural or man-made.

According to a study published in Nature Climate Change, untackled methane emissions could lead to a rise in global temperatures by 1.5 degrees Celsius, especially from food-related heating (According to scientists, methane is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide). This includes food produced by the dairy industry, primarily consisting of dairy cows, who emit methane in two ways.

First is by producing it in their stomachs during digestion, which is released through silent burps.

The second way is through manure, which is generated during storage before being used as crop fertilizer.

Catherine Ivanovich, from Columbia University, who led the research, said, “Methane has this really dominant role in driving the warming associated with the food systems. Sustaining the pattern [of food production] we have today is not consistent with keeping the 1.5C temperature threshold. That places a lot of urgency on reducing the emissions, especially from the high-methane food groups."


However, technology might once again save the day! A team of scientists are working with farmers to help reduce the harmful greenhouse gases produced by cows.

The team consists of scientists from the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco researchers. The goal is “to cut climate change-causing emissions from cattle by using the genome-editing tool CRISPR on microbes in the cows’ gut.”

On the team is UC Berkeley Professor Jennifer Doudna, who won the 2020 Nobel Prize in chemistry for her work to develop CRISPR genome-editing technology.

Leading the research is Ermias Kebreab, a professor at UC Davis, who has been using a machine in a laboratory that mimics the processes of a cow’s digestive system to study what additives in cow feed could be effective in reducing methane emissions.

"I see this as a way in which we can drastically reduce methane emissions," said Kebreab, adding, "We are looking into some feed additives that would get us into 80-to-90% reduction of methane emissions which was unthinkable about 10 years ago."

Some of the additives include red seaweed, almond hulls and grape pomace (a byproduct of winemaking).


Furthermore, cow manure could be used to create energy, by storing it in a closed, oxygen-devoid tank and using micro-organisms to break it down to create biogas. This biogas could then be used for electricity, heat or even vehicle fuel.

Do you think this study is the answer to methane-related climate issues? Can this moo-ve be adopted across the globe? Let us know in the comments below!