Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Is That You ... Or Do We Have A Gas Leak?

Not too long ago, we heard how cow flatulence was bad for the environment . . . not because it smells horrible, but because it contributes to global warming. Cows produce loads of methane when they break wind and methane supposedly contributes more to global warming than carbon dioxide, which is what factories, cars, and airplanes spew into the air. Apparently cow dung also emits methane. This is where David Albers, the president of BioEnergy Solutions, comes in. His idea: Why not ask dairy farmers to give him manure so he can turn cow dung into an alternative energy source? So this week David opened a plant in Riverdale, California, that is as big as five football fields . . . 33-feet deep . . . and filled with cow dung given to him by a local dairy farmer. Over a few days, the methane from the manure will build up under a tent . . . be pumped through a filter . . . and be sent off to a power plant in Northern California. That plant will send enough energy to power 1,200 homes.

"Honey ... I can't tell if we have a gas leak, or if it was my visit to Taco Bell?"

1 comment:

Bill Naivar said...

I once read in National Geographic that people in India have been doing this for years. Since they're famous for worshiping cows in India, my first reaction was "Holy S**t!"