August 1st, 2009
Cows and cowboys can relax now.
A Congressional committee has voted in favor of measure that would prevent the federal EPA from trying to regulate methane. It’s a common product of living creatures and their manure. Farm lobbies despise theidea that manure would come under federal guidelines. Methane is one of those pesky greenhouse gases, of course.
And earlier this year the EPA did find that a half dozen greenhouse gases are dangerous to public health. In addition to methan and CO2, the list includes: nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). Lobbies for each of these gases are at work right now in Washington to protect their particular off-gassed emissions.
Big city papers don’t understand the methane issue, but the ag press sure gets it. If methane is ever regulated there are numerous green tech ways to convert it, burn it or otherwise use it rather than just send it into the atmosphere. Numerous large ag operations already capture some methane from animal waste and use it to generate energy. On the other hand one conspiracy feared in ag-land is that vegetarians are trying to get meat outlawed by focusing on its methane-production proclivities. Could hamburgers go the way of cigarettes? Perhaps we should demand original birth certificates of all vegetarians?
A newsman since 1969, Harry Fuller has worked for CBS, ABC, CNBC Europe, CNET and was founding news director at TechTV. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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