When one thinks of emissions, the mind of most quickly comes up with an image
of a big SUV car or a huge truck. Not many think of dairy farms, which are
responsible for 18% of the green house emissions. Dairy farms emissions
consist of making the products such as cheese or milk, but also taking care of
the animals and their waste. [Cows produce 120 pounds of waste per cow per day.
According to the article linked below.] Most farms are unaware of how much
damage they are causing to the environment as whole or even to the towns
surrounding them. One of the biggest dairy farms in the United States called
Threemile Canyon Farms is located 160 miles away from Portland, OR.
The next question that one might have after
learning about how dairy farms affect the environment is whether anything is
being done about this issue. J-U-B Engineers Inc. of Boise took this issue
seriously and designed a machine that is able to use some of the waste created
by the animals and creation of dairy products and converting that into fuel for
some of the machines used at the farms. So far the experimental trials of
this machine were conducted at the Threemile Canyon Farms and have proven to
significantly lower the emissions.
The issue that has presented itself after the
design was completed was who was going to pay to have these machines created
for all the dairy farms in the United States. Some local dairy farms have taken
action and have been collecting donations. Also some bigger corporations, such
as NW Natural have asked their customers to contribute to this cause by
increasing their utility bill by 6$.
What one can hope is that in the nearest future,
the biodigester machine trials will be completed and the machine will become
available to all dairy farms in an effort to reduce the emissions created by
these farms. As this issue becomes more popular in the media, more supporters
of this new way of helping the environment will gain supporters and hopefully
financial donations will start flowing in the direction of the smaller local farms
which can not afford such expensive machinery at their farms.
Here is a shortened version:
1. Dairy farms are responsible for a huge amount of
greenhouse gas emissions.
2. Biggest dairy farm is in Oregon, meaning it
produces more greenhouse gas emissions than smaller dairy farms.
3. Green house emissions affects everyone, whether
one lives within a 10 mile radius or on the east coast.
4. If we bring attention to this issue, more people
will know about it and will be able to help out in any way possible to get
these machines into dairy farms across the United States, thus lessening the
green house emissions.
For more information about this issue check out
these articles:
by Natalia Sudol
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