(cross-posted at
Deny My Freedom)
The issue of global warming, which has been receiving a lot of press due to Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, can be tied to the issue of using renewable sources of energy. The main sources of our energy, which is derived from fossil fuels such as oil, coal, and gas, are nonrenewable. Back in 2001, it was estimated that at the current rate of usage then, we would run out of oil by 2043 - now less than 40 years away and within a great deal of the world population's lifetime. Last year, despite record high oil prices, worldwide consumption grew by 1.3%, and with developing economies such as China and India requiring additional resources each year to keep their economies growing, one can only wonder what a true timeline is until we run out of oil. Mixing ethanol with gasoline does not solve the problem of developing a truly renewable source of energy, and the process of making ethanol nowadays itself requires the use of pollution-causing agents that make the net effect of such products questionable.
So it was with great interest that I read a story about some enterprising farms in Vermont taking an interesting step:
creating energy from cow pies.
It's long been the milk that pays, but now the Audets have figured out how to make the manure pay as well. They're using it -- actually, the methane that comes from it -- to generate electricity.
With the help of their power company, Central Vermont Public Service Corp., the Audets have devised a way to extract the methane from the manure and pipe it to a generator.
Well, it certainly seems like a good way of transforming what is otherwise waste into a useful product. In fact, the excrement is turned into three useful by-products: methane, which is used for energy; a liquid used as fertilizer for the feed crops; and an odor-free brown substance that is used for bedding for the cows or sold as fertilizer. Indeed, it seems to fulfill Gore's notion using alternative energy sources can be profitable for companies.
The only problem, though, is that methane still contributes to the problem of global warming. According to the EPA, methane traps 21 more times the heat than carbon dioxide does. While this is less than 10% of the heat that nitrous oxide - the chemical result of the combustion of fossil fuels - it still figures to add to the problem, even if at a slower rate. While it may be a good short-term fix, it will keep pushing us to that ever-closer point of no return. But in the short term, it could greatly reduce the amount of pollution that burning fossil fuels create, and unlike more agreeable forms of alternative energy such as wind and water power, there are no regional barriers to cow power.
Although I ultimately believe that solar power is the cleanest and most renewable source of energy, it may be time to ponder moving in the right direction by using cow pies. Big problems such as global warming and renewable energy cannot be implemented overnight, but this seems like a reasonable first step.