July 28, 2005

Bubble Cows

No, this is not some new Japanese dairy drink involving tapioca. As I had mentioned in my previous post, the people at UC Davis are doing some excellent environmental work. Here is another example from USA Today:
Researcher looks to clear the air about cow emissions
In a white, tent-like "bio-bubble" on a farm near Davis, eight pregnant Holsteins are eating, chewing and pooping — for science. "The ladies," as they're called by University of California researcher Frank Mitloehner, are doing their part to answer a question plaguing one of California's largest agricultural industries: How much gas does a cow emit?

The findings will be used to write the state's first air quality regulations for dairies and could affect regulations nationwide.

But before he explains how it works, Mitloehner wants one thing to be clear.

"We're not talking about flatulence," he says.

He emphasizes the point because his research has been dismissed as "fart science," a label he says doesn't do justice to the seriousness of his work.

There are more than three million cows in California, the vast majority living in the booming Central Valley, home to some of the most polluted air in the country. How much to blame the cows and how much to blame the cars for the bad air is no small concern.

Mitloehner's research has suggested that cows are responsible for far fewer of the compounds that contribute to smog, known as volatile organic compounds or VOCs, than previously thought, perhaps as little as half the amount.
Here is a photo of the good Dr. Mitloehner:
bubble-cow.jpg
Interesting work -- the idea that cows produce methane has always been out there but always accompanied with lots of "computer models" and various handwaving. Good to see that someone is taking a quantitative view of this... Posted by DaveH at July 28, 2005 10:41 PM
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