Al

Life musings from Bristol.

[Al @Al_Dare]

When your past is foreign country you wish to emigrate to. https://t.co/ii3168u6Sz

[Pete Sanford @PeteSanford]

THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH OF BOVAER HARMS: IMPORTANT PLEASE READ:

Environmental Risks of Bovaer (3‑NOP)

Bovaer’s active ingredient is 3‑nitrooxypropanol (3‑NOP).

It reduces methane by inhibiting an enzyme in the cow’s rumen.

But the environmental risks come from everything that happens after the cow eats it*.

Let’s break it down.

1. Manure Pathway Risks

Even though 3‑NOP breaks down inside the cow, its breakdown products do not disappear. They move into:

• manure
• slurry
• digestate
• soil
• water

This is the biggest environmental unknown.

Potential risks:

• Accumulation of metabolites in soil
• Impact on soil microbes (especially methanogens, nitrifiers, denitrifiers)
• Changes in nitrogen cycling
• Altered greenhouse‑gas emissions (N₂O, CO₂)
• Leaching into waterways

No long‑term, multi‑year field studies exist yet.

2. Soil Microbiome Disruption

3‑NOP targets methanogenic archaea.

But soil is full of:

• methanogens
• nitrifiers
• denitrifiers
• fungi
• bacteria

If Bovaer metabolites suppress or alter these communities, the consequences could include:

• reduced soil fertility
• altered carbon sequestration
• increased nitrous oxide emissions
• reduced microbial diversity

This is a classic “non‑target organism” risk.

3. Slurry Storage & Anaerobic Digestion Risks

Most dairy farms store slurry in:

• lagoons
• pits
• tanks
• anaerobic digesters

If Bovaer metabolites affect microbial activity in these systems, risks include:

• reduced biogas yield
• altered methane production
• build‑up of intermediate compounds
• changes in slurry stability

Anaerobic digesters rely on methanogens — the exact organisms Bovaer is designed to inhibit.

This is a major unknown.

4. Water Contamination Pathway

If Bovaer metabolites enter water via:

• runoff
• leaching
• spreading slurry on wet ground

…they may affect:

• aquatic microbes
• algae
• sediment chemistry
• methane‑cycling organisms

Freshwater ecosystems are extremely sensitive to chemical disruption.

5. Air Emissions Trade‑Offs

Bovaer reduces methane — but environmental science warns of pollution swapping:

Reducing one gas can increase another.

Possible trade‑offs:
• Lower CH₄
• Higher N₂O (300× more potent than CO₂)
• Higher ammonia emissions
• Changes in VOCs

If nitrogen cycling is altered, N₂O could rise — wiping out methane gains.

6. Biodiversity Impacts

If soil or water microbial communities shift, knock‑on effects include:

• reduced earthworm populations
• altered plant growth
• changes in root‑microbe symbiosis
• reduced insect biodiversity
• altered decomposition rates

Microbial disruption cascades upward through ecosystems.

7. Cumulative Impact Risk

This is the biggest scientific gap.

If Bovaer is used:

• daily
• in millions of cows
• across entire countries
• for decades

…then the environmental load of its metabolites becomes chronic, not incidental.

Cumulative risks include:

• long‑term soil accumulation
• multi‑year shifts in microbial ecology
• regional water‑quality changes
• altered greenhouse‑gas profiles
• ecosystem‑level effects

No country has yet conducted a cumulative environmental impact assessment.

8. Regulatory Blind Spot

Regulators approved Bovaer based on:

• Short Trials
• Controlled Conditions
• Limited Soil Studies
• ZERO Multi‑Year Field Data
• No Cumulative Modelling

This is normal for feed additives — but unusual for something intended for global, daily, mass‑scale use.

It’s the same regulatory gap that caused problems with:

• Neonicotinoids
• PFAS
• Glyphosate
• Microplastics

All were approved before long‑term environmental effects were understood.

Summary: The 5 Real Environmental Risks

• Soil microbiome disruption
• Slurry & anaerobic digestion interference
• Water contamination pathways
• Pollution swapping (N₂O increase)
• Cumulative, long‑term ecosystem effects

RISKS TO FARM WORKERS OF SERIOUS INJURY:

Farmworkers handling Bovaer are warned to treat it like a dangerous lab chemical, not a harmless feed additive. The powder can burn the skin, damage the eyes, and irritate the lungs, which is why workers must suit up in chemical‑resistant gloves, full protective clothing, sealed goggles or a face shield, and sometimes even a respirator if dust is present. One careless breath, one splash, one moment without proper PPE — and the consequences can be immediate and severe. It’s a stark reminder that if something requires this level of protection to handle, it raises serious questions about its place anywhere near the food chain.

THE BOTTOM LINE: PROFIT OVER SAFETY:

20 BILLION PROFITS YEARLY

Behind the polished sustainability slogans lies a staggering financial engine: the Bovaer trademark holders stand to extract tens of billions in annual global profit if the additive becomes standard across the world’s 1.5 billion cattle. Every cow becomes a tiny revenue stream, every farm a captive customer, and every country a new frontier of monetisation. The scale is so vast that the real prize isn’t methane reduction at all — it’s the creation of a permanent, worldwide dependency on a patented chemical that must be bought day after day, year after year. When a single feed additive can generate profits on the scale of a pharmaceutical empire, you start to see why the marketing feels so urgent, and why the push for adoption never stops.

[Lawrence Monk @trendylefty]

Remember when they saved £1.5bn by cutting pensioners winter fuel payments?

[Richard Negus @TrooperSnooks]

It should be an offence, punishable by a day in the stocks, for any politician to use the word "free" in connection to a policy funded by the taxpayer.

[Sarah Cooper-Lesadd MS @SarahReform]

Happy National Fish & Chip Day! 🐟🍟

Had a smashing time being shown round Beales, Porthcawl’s oldest fish and chips shop.

Places like this are the backbone of our towns — the history, the graft, a family rolling up their sleeves year after year.

That’s real enterprise. And it’s exactly why we should back our local businesses.

[John Bent @JohnBent11]

Starmer politically milking Henry Nowak’s death for all its worth .
He had the family visit Downing st & leave alone under the glare of the national Media .
Why didn’t he meet them in Hampshire at a quiet spot & no cameras ?
Cheap politics . That’s Starmer

[Critica Climatica Alias Fortunato Nardelli @climacritic]

Questa foto si intitola "La scomparsa della donna".
E' opera della fotografa yemenita Boushra Almutawakel.

[Al @Al_Dare]

@bristol_citizen If she's the best they could find what were rest like.

[Kathryn Porter @KathrynPorter26]

I gave my son a summer job last year because he couldn't find one otherwise. I kept him on in case he needs work this year

Now I have to file monthly returns to HMRC saying I'm not paying him at the moment

They set debt collectors on me because they assumed with zero evidence I would pay him the same every month. I ignored the debt collectors as they'd never get a court order to enforce a debt that didn't exist

Now the pensions regulator is demanding I prove he doesn't need me to start a pension for him. How did they know I had employed him? Probably from HMRC.... So why don't they also know he didn't earn enough to pass the threshold

These people are out of control

It's hard not to see the state as my actual enemy these days rather than an inconvenience to be navigated

[Bramley Moore @NotfarW]

I see that guys arrested last night for fighting with police in Southampton have been remanded and will be sentenced in July !!
Amazing that isn’t it
2 people smashed a police women’s nose across her face punched another 3 police officers all under perfect view of airport cameras . 2 years ago and 2 trials ago No verdict no sentence ??
Can someone please tell me how this is happening ?

[Al @Al_Dare]

@opinion_black The sort of cop that handcuffs a dying teenager as he says "I don't think you have mate".

[James Melville 🚜 @JamesMelville]

The residents of Auchtertool in Fife are taking a stand against a monster AI data centre that is being proposed to be situated right next to their scenic village.

The proposed data centre is one of the biggest in the world - bigger than their village. And it’s estimated that the 600MW energy consumption with be 20% of Scotland entire energy consumption. It’s also being situated on beautiful countryside. Fife Council haven’t published an environmental impact report.

This campaign to stop this AI data centre monstrosity in Fife is now receiving huge amounts of media and social media coverage. For once, people power can defeat tech corporations power if this campaign continues to be amplified.

'This is a big issue. Not just for Auchtertool, not just for Fife, not just for Scotland but for the world and we have to make a stand'.

[Sir Tain that life could be better than this! @gtmac786]

How funny would it be if Musk got a bit pissed-off and bought WhatsApp off Meta, then proceeded to locate and release all of Starmers disappearing messages of the contents of all those Liebour phone that have miraculously and conveniently been stolen.

That would be a great day in British politics.

[Al @Al_Dare]

@TheMercianNews He should've broken a cop's nose in an airport, you don't do time for that these days.

[WeGotitBack 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇬🇧🇺🇸 @NotFarLeftAtAll]

Last week I was listening to the radio and people were ringing in complaining about being unable to secure jobs as doctors or nurses. It’s astonishing that despite over 5000 fully trained British doctors being unemployed.

So when they say we need immigration for the NHS due to a shortage, it’s simply not true.

[Laura Trott MP @LauraTrottMP]

Labour promised 6,500 new teachers. Today we learned that there are 1,900 FEWER teachers. It turns out Keir Starmer’s approach to promises is the same as he does with his messages - auto delete.

[Al @Al_Dare]

@WONGthink it's always the gingers.

[Harman Singh Kapoor @kingkapoor72]

This small miniature kirpan solves the problem. Just wear it. We don’t need a big one to fulfill our religious beliefs.

[Al @Al_Dare]

@stillawake well we can be sure his levels of cognitive dissonance haven't dropped since moving on.