wow fact for the day

courtesy of the latest addition to my legible list, which i'm proud to say comes from somewhere other than the new york times or the new yorker. (okay, it's from the boston globe, which is owned by the nyt, but still counts -- separate editorial staffs). a really nice read that talks about the gaping holes in the logic behind the current eat-local craze (one which i definitely jumped on the bandwagon for prematurely).

And for cattle, the greatest climate impact comes not from hauling cows and milk and steaks around the country, but from cow burps. Cows are impressive emitters of methane, a greenhouse gas that is 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide (contrary to popular belief, most of it comes out the front of the cow, not the rear). A cow with a bit of indigestion can contribute as much to global warming in a day as the average SUV.

hopefully, this means i can start ordering wine from around the world again (just for variety sake).