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Cows. They sit around all day, mooing, getting milked, eating grass, and pooping. And that's the problem—the pooping. After all, we Americans love cows—they give us beef, milk, and cheese (Though we really should be cutting back on that beef)—but their massive output of manure presents a huge problem.
And that's the fact that cow manure is uber rich in methane, which it releases as it decomposes—and methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that's about 10 times worse for the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. Considering that cows poop an average of 128 lbs a day, and that there are 1.8 million cows in California alone, we've got ourselves a problem.
For the most part, cattle ranches and dairy farms across the country simply do their best to dispose of the dirty dung, and then they let it sit and emit methane all over the place. But not Vintage Dairy of Riverdale, California—the good folks there have worked out a way to not only turn cow crap into energy, but to make a profit doing it.
GWord correspondent Summer Rayne Oakes pays a visit to the farm in this video short, which details the innovative process by which cow manure gets turned into a salable biogas—cutting emissions, curbing solid waste, and creating renewable energy in one fell swoop. The clean (yes, it's clean) energy created onsite at the dairy farm is capable of providing 2,500 homes with electricity. It's an impressive, admirable feat they've engineered, and hopefully will set an example for dairy farms and ranches around the nation.
Check out the G Word video From Cow Manure to Money to get the full scoop. No pun intended.
More on Cow Manure:
Holy Cow ! Manure -to-Biogas Could Generate 3 Percent of US Electric Needs
A Dung Deal: Making Power from Poop
Got a tip or a post idea for us to write about on Planet Green? Email pgtips (at) treehugger (dot) com.
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