Cow Poop Could Power the Internet

No, no, no. They've got it backwards. Cow poop is what comes out of the Internet.

OK, technically it's from bulls, not cows. But still.

Then why can't they just use the B.S. that is already on the internet?

"What's worse, methane is 21 times more damaging to the environment than carbon dioxide."

False. The only reason that the current definition of 'greenhouse gas', namely CO2, is bad for the environment is that the CO2 levels in the air our rising, which is insulating the atmosphere, blah blah blah... (I think we all know the drill).

BUT, the greenhouse gases emitted by cars is from a buried source of carbon, crude oil, where the carbon has been for x-thousands/millions of years. The methane, although a heavier hydrocarbon gas, comes from the circulated terrestrial (that is, from the relative surface of the Earth to the atmosphere) because the cows eat grass, which gets its nutrients from the rain and soil, which are circulated.

Brass tacks... cows = carbon neutral...that is unless dairy cows are going to be fed crude oil from now on....

You get a GA from me for stimulating thinking.

If cows = carbon neutral, because of CO2 recirculation, are trees neutral as well?

In the long haul, of course, trees can become the fossil fuel we need so badly, albeit a little late for the show. We have a bad habit of recirculating trees before they lock up much carbon.

I guess, as long as houses are not burned, the tree carbon is locked for the short term.

Yes, cows do individually generate about 15 lbs of methane each day as a byproduct of making milk, meat, and baby cows.

Good thread! Cheers.

QL

Why thank you. And yes, trees are carbon neutral. If energy needs were very low, it would be 100% environmentally friendly. But, if trees were to replace fossil fuels with the current demand, we would quickly wipe out all of forests (which I'm not sure is a statement about the amount of energy retally available in wood, or the world's current demand for oil...).

Regardless, more research on alternate fuels!