EPISODE LIBRARY

Teaser 2: Trawler Trash

Carson goes fishing for clues to a mysterious fish disappearance. When she sees a Dummkopf flagged Factory Fishing ship swallowing everything in its wake, she knows it’s time to cut bait. Can Carson mobilize the spineless Kraken to join her and her army of fish friends as they take on the trawler?
Learn More & Take Action

Odds are you don't need a scientist to tell you that farting can be funny.
However, it took scientists to figure out that farting can actually be harmful to the environment. Burping, too.

And no, we're not talking about your friend who can play "Jingle Bells" with his butt. We're talking about the gas let off by ruminants - cud-chewing animals like sheep, goats, camels, and cows. Their farts, and especially their burps, contain methane, a natural gas that traps heat inside our atmosphere.

According to the United Nations, livestock animals like cows and goats generate more greenhouse gases than all forms of transportation combined.

So, what can we do about this?


Good: Invent solutions

Here's one inventor who patented a burp collector:

Inventions like this and others might help, but even if we could stop cows from emitting any methane, they'd still have a huge impact on our planet.

  • Forests are clear cut to create grazing land.
  • Fuel is burned to create fertilizer to grow animal feed.
  • Pesticides, antibiotics and hormones leach into our drinking water.
  • Feedlot and fertilizer waste washes into our rivers and oceans.
Better: Eat better meat

Cows raised on organic, well managed ranches and farms use less fertilizer, chemicals and fresh water. But organic milk and free range meat is a lot more expensive.

Best: Eat less meat

Eat less meat and more vegetables, soys and other legumes. You'll get plenty of everything your body needs, you'll be healthier, and the planet will be happier! (And your folks can save some money in the bargain.)

Take Action

It's fun to laugh at Shamus or cheer on Carson. But to make a real difference, we've got to get involved. Ask your parents to help you find a community group that's working to change things. It could be your church, or a student club at a nearby college or high school. Or use the Web to find out what the big activist groups are doing like Greenpeace, 1Sky, or Energy Action Coalition, or keep tabs on what other young activists are up to by reading It's Getting Hot in Here or YouthNoise.