AP via Houston Chronicle:
How much gas does a cow pass?Are they going to hook up catalytic converters to the cows rear end?
It's a serious question for California's dairy farmers, because it could cost them big money to comply with new state air quality regulations coming down the pike.
And it's no laughing matter for Frank Mitloehner, whose work is quantifying bovine emissions. He doesn't appreciate that his research at the University of California has been laughed off by some people.
"We're not talking about flatulence," Mitloehner says.
There are more than 3 million cows in California, the vast majority living in the Central Valley, which has some of the most polluted air in the country. How much to blame the cows and how much to blame the cars is no small concern.
Mitloehner's research has suggested cows are responsible for far fewer of the smog-contributing compounds known as volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, than thought, perhaps as little as half the amount.
That puts Mitloehner in the middle of a dispute coming to a head Monday, when the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District will announce its new emissions factor for cows — the amount of VOCs, in pounds, that a cow releases each year. The number will eventually determine which dairies must apply for air quality permits and invest in mitigating air pollution equipment.
"It's not just a number," Mitloehner said.
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