Beware of moose gas

Worried about global warming? Then you may want to revise your opinion of the picturesque moose.

According to Norwegian biologist Reidar Andersen, moose have cows (and SUVs) beat when it comes to producing greenhouse gases. The average moose, says Andersen, produces 2,100 kilograms of methane annually, the global warming equivalent of driving a car 13,000 kilometres or flying return from Norway to Chile. Andersen wants the Norwegian government to allow more moose hunting.

Norwegians love winter trips to South America, and also moose, their national symbol, so they are in a quandary. But maybe the methane production will be offset somewhere else by another feature of global warming.

According to Michigan Technological University at Houghton, global warming is killing off moose on Isle Royale, on the northwest shore of Lake Superior. Hot summers are hard on moose, scientists say. They don’t forage as much, and are more susceptible to starvation and predators in the wintertime. BF