Being a vegetarian is not just good for you, but it is good for the environment as well. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, the chemical and animal waste runoff from factory farms damages our water system. Factory farms are used to produce dairy, eggs, and produce cheaply and efficiently. But they are very detrimental to the environment.
Farm animals produce large quantities of the powerful greenhouse gas methane. These emissions lead to the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is when thermal radiation from a planetary surface is absorbed by atmospheric greenhouse gases, and is re-radiated in all directions. The greenhouse effect heats the earth because greenhouse gases absorb outgoing radiative energy and re-emit some of it back towards earth. As a result, the average surface temperature rises. This then leads to other several other issues. A major one of them is the rise of sea level. The world’s oceans have already risen 4-8 inches. Which, to put into perspective, is enough to erode certain islands. The climate change caused by greenhouse gases is also causing severe floods and severe droughts in parts of the world. Storm activity will increase as temperatures rise and more water evaporates from the oceans. This includes more powerful hurricanes, pacific typhoons, and an increased frequency of severe localized storms and tornadoes. We have already seen examples of this the earthquake in Haiti and the tsunami in Japan, just to name a few of the most extreme recent examples. This warming also causes evaporation on land. The American West, Southern Africa, and Australia are experiencing severe droughts.
By limiting your consumption of meat, whether once a week or as a permanent life change, you can be helping to slowly reduce these statistics.
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