CSIRO releases pill to stop cows farting and reduce methane emissions

The “miracle pill” that stops cattle belching* and farting methane* has finally gone on sale – and now the organisation that developed it is looking for the next breakthrough technology that will help Australia slash its greenhouse gas emissions*.

The nation’s scientific research agency, the CSIRO, has launched its new $90 million Towards Net Zero Mission, which aims to develop greenhouse gas-busting technologies in some of our most heavily emitting industries: agriculture, aviation and steelmaking.

Globally, those three sectors are greenhouse gas giants: agriculture is responsible for 18 per cent of all emissions, while steelmaking represents 7 per cent and aviation contributes another 2 per cent.

But the CSIRO’s Dr Michael Battaglia said bringing emissions down across all those industries was unlikely to be achieved with just a “silver bullet*”.

He said that even the CSIRO’s much-hyped* miracle pill – the seaweed-based feed additives which cut the methane emissions of cows by up to 90 per cent in tests – had their limitations.

“At the moment we might have the pill, but we’ve got to get the pill to the people, or in this case, the cows,” Dr Battaglia said.

“That still represents a challenge, and that’s what makes a mission different.

“It’s one thing to invent new technology; it’s another to get it widely adopted into systems of use where it does make a difference.

“So missions are about going beyond just the technology invention, into understanding how we develop that capacity for adoption … so they can get out there and make a difference.”

As well as releasing the methane pill, the CSIRO is also investigating other initiatives* to slash emissions in the agriculture sector, including other types of feed additives*, a legume*-heavy diet for livestock, hydrogen-sourced fertilisers* and the rotational sequencing of grain crops to reduce the need for harmful fertilisers and insecticides*.

While the National Farmers Federation and Aussie steelmaker BlueScope have both set goals to get to net zero by 2050, Dr Battaglia said technological gains alone would only cut emissions by 75 per cent in the farming and steelmaking sectors. The remaining emissions would have to be offset*, he said.

Industry and Science Minister Ed Husic said the CSIRO’s Towards Net Zero Mission was “a great program that will use large-scale research to help Australian industries reduce their emissions and stay competitive in a decarbonising* global economy”.

The CSIRO’s launch came as a group called Farmers for Climate Action called for the federal government to introduce renewable energy* incentives* for farmers.

Farmers for Climate Action chief executive Dr Fiona Davis said renewable energy could be a “massive positive for farming and regional communities,” but these groups had not been “sufficiently engaged” to date.

GLOSSARY

• belching: allowing air from the stomach to come out noisily through the mouth, burbing
• methane: a greenhouse gas
• greenhouse gas emissions: harmful gases that are produced and released into Earth’s atmosphere, causing the planet to warm
• silver bullet: a simple and seemingly magical solution to a difficult problem
• much-hyped: something that is talked about, praised and promoted a lot
• initiatives: new ideas or ways to achieve a goal or solve a problem
• additives: substances added to food in small quantities to improve them
• legume: a plant that has its seeds in a pod
• fertilisers: substances (often chemicals) that are added to soil to help with growing crops
• insecticides: substances (often chemicals) that are used to kill insects
• offset: balance something out by having an equal and opposite force or effect
• decarbonising: reducing the amount of carbon emissions
• renewable energy: energy that is produced from sources that will not run out
• incentives: something that encourages or rewards someone for doing a certain thing

EXTRA READING

Seaweed for cows lowers climate cost

MooLoo to the rescue

Meet the greenhouse gas makers

QUICK QUIZ

1. What harmful gas do cows produce when they belch and fart?
2. Which agency has released the pill for cows?
3. What is the name of the agency’s mission to develop greenhouse gas-busting technologies?
4. Name two other initiatives the agency is investigating to cut Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions.
5. By what percentage are technological gains expected to cut emissions in the farming and steelmaking sectors?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Solve the problems
What are the problems that the scientists who have invented the ‘miracle pill’ now have to solve? Write them down. Then, write down some solutions that you think could help solve the problems.

Time: allow 25 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science

2. Extension
“Kids shouldn’t be reading stories about cows burping and farting, it’s not appropriate!” How would you convince a person who said this that their opinion about the story is wrong? Write paragraphs explaining what you would say to change their mind.

Time: allow 25 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science

VCOP ACTIVITY
Read this!
A headline on an article – or a title on your text – should capture the attention of the audience, telling them to read this now. So choosing the perfect words for a headline or title is very important.

Create three new headlines for the events that took place in this article. Remember, what you write and how you write it will set the pace for the whole text, so make sure it matches.

Read out your headlines to a partner and discuss what the article will be about based on the headline you created. Discuss the tone and mood you set in just your few, short words. Does it do the article justice? Will it capture the audience’s attention the way you hoped? Would you want to read more?

Consider how a headline or title is similar to using short, sharp sentences throughout your text. They can be just as important as complex ones. Go through the last text you wrote and highlight any short, sharp sentences that capture the audience.