With the “cap and trade” issue being on the front burner nationally, some misleading information is being published, according to Frank Hendrix, Yakima County Extension Agent for animal, sciences, irrigated pasture and range management. 

In the September issue of the Washington State University Extension newsletter, Hendrix said a recent “Washington Post” letter reported that livestock were responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. 

The article contained an equation pertaining to deforestation in South America and some pretty bizarre theory structure without data Hendrix said.

“The facts are that 97 percent of all ‘greenhouse gas’ is water vapor. 

Of the remaining 3 percent of the gas mix, only approximately 2.8 percent has any tie to livestock,” Hendrix said in the newsletter. 

“So actually, at the most, 0.084 percent of greenhouse gas is from livestock.” 

Greenhouse gas emissions attributed to livestock have remained constant since 1990, Hendrix said, while meat production has increased by 50 percent, milk production has increased by 16 percent, and egg production increased by 33 percent. 

“The animal-agriculture sector in the United States is environmentally and socially responsible,” he said.