If they tax this what will they tax next

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3005740.stm

Well, considering that Methane is at least 20 times [from memory its actually much more than 20, possibly as high as 50-200 times] worse than CO2 in terms of global warning - Methane is a big issue for Kyoto protocol signatories.

Methane from farm animals is responsible for over 50% of the Greenhouse emissions emitted by NZ [unlike any other country in the Kyoto protocol].

The NZ Government's position, is that the tax will help part-fund (note part-fund - the government is already paying the rest) research into ways of reducing the methane emissions from farm animals - which if successful, will help NZ meet its Kyoto protocol CO2 emissions earlier than 2012, and may even allow the knowledge to benefit other countries who also raise livestock.

The tax is quite small - a few cents per animal, per year. I think its reasonable.
Other governments would just fund the whole research and bury the cost in the usual government spending "slush funds".

The initial reseach results so far, indicate that quite small changes in diet or soil/gut bacteria "on the farm" can have a big effect in how much Methane is emitted from the animals.

Never said it was a bad idea just the entire concept of a fart tax is slightly humerous

HeHe. It sounds fine.

Until they extend the tax to Homo Sapiens. Just think, that would leave breathing as the only untaxed necessity of life.

Oh man! At first I thought this meant the end of Terrance and Phillip...

I am sorry but i must ask how do they measure these experiments on the amount of meathane being produced by a cow.

The pictures they've shown of it, show sheep, with something like a 2 inch diameter plastic tube "molded" over the head/neck area and which sits just below the ears on either side, which monitors the air around the animal. [the tube is stuffed full of electronics and air sampling equipment].

Not sure about the rear end "monitoring equipment" - they tend not to show that too much when folks are watching the news - probably something similar.

As for cows - something similar is used.

The main interest of their research is that the methane tends to come from the animals guts, via belching, so for now I think they're more interested in the mouth/nose emissions,rather than the "farting" per-se.

So for now it should probably, technically be called a "belch tax". [ruminent animals emit far more methane via their front end than their back end - since the back end emissions have gone through a much longer process before being emitted].

Although each animal is a tiny emitter of methane, it all adds up when have 10 times the human population of them.

As for the worst natural emitters of methane around the world - thats been worked out to be termites, simply because there are so many of them and the way they build their hives.

However, Termites have been on this planet for far longer than just about any other methane emitter, so their "actual effect on/contribution to" global warming since the early 1800's has not changed much at all, - so no-ones got plans to tax them as far as I know - anyway, few people farm termites - they simply happen.