I don't buy into man-made climate change or global warming, but both sides of the issue need to let go of the ruminant methane argument. There is no net gain of greenhouse gas - the digestion of the plant will release the same amount of carbon as the decomposition of the plant. Just the time frame changes. Ultimately the ruminant and the plant are part of the same carbon cycle.
Fossil fuels are a different deal. As the argument goes, fossil fuels are sequestered and out of the carbon cycle. It's only when man brings the sequestered carbon back into the cycle do they contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.
Cooking fires can also fall under the no-net-gain scenario if the fuel used is wood, cow chips, or other carbon source currently in the carbon cycle. If coal or other sequestered fuel is used then the opposite applies.
