gametheoryman
- The Environment
Gaseous State
In a lush pasture near Buenos Aires, this cow and its compatriots are digesting important information: how much methane—a greenhouse gas 20 times as potent as carbon dioxide—is released by the country’s 55 million bovines. Researchers from Argentina's National Institute of Agricultural Technology connected inflatable tanks to the cows’ first stomach, where methane is made, through a small hole between their ribs.
9.19.2008 at 11:24am - Comment by gametheorymanLet's see, that's 70 gallons, which is a bit under 10 cubic feet of methane. The cost of natural gas ready to be put into the interstate pipeline system has been about $4-$8 per thousand cubic feet, depending upon the time of year. That makes about 4-8 cents worth of methane per cow per day. You must have been thinking of an awful lot of cows for that to be a vast amount of energy. Even Wisconsin doesn't have that many.
Download Our iPhone App
Stay up to date on the latest news of the future of science and technology from your iPhone with full articles, images and offline viewing
Follow Us On Twitter
Featuring every article from the magazine and website, plus links from around the Web. Also see our PopSci DIY feed
Become a Fan On Facebook
Share links with friends, comment on stories and more
December 2009: Best of What's New
In our December issue, Popular Science names the 100 best innovations of the year: bombproof wallpaper, self-parking cars, the fastest helicopter, and 97 more. Plus inventor profiles and videos.
Check out the best of what's new here.
Popular Science Photo Pool
Popular on Popsci
Most Viewed
- IBM's Blue Gene Supercomputer Models a Cat's Entire Brain
- Intel Wants Brain Implants in Its Customers' Heads by 2020
- Mesmerizing, Isn't It?
- Batteryless Remote Control Pulls Power from Your Button Presses
- New Reactor Uses Sunlight to Turn Water and Carbon Dioxide Into Fuel
- High-Pressure Diamond Anvil Creates a New Solid from Xenon and Hydrogen
- The Dubai Airshow As Seen From Orbit
- So Do Prosthetic Limbs Give Sprinters an Advantage Or Not?
- Robotic Surrogate Takes Your Place at Work
- Boeing's Latest Mobile Laser Weapon Tracks and Shoots Down Drone
Most Commented
- This Week in the Future, November 16-20, 2009
- This Week in the Future, November 23-26, 2009: Thanksgiving Special
- Intel Wants Brain Implants in Its Customers' Heads by 2020
- IBM's Blue Gene Supercomputer Models a Cat's Entire Brain
- New Reactor Uses Sunlight to Turn Water and Carbon Dioxide Into Fuel
- CERN Successfully Brings Large Hadron Collider Back Online
- NASA Robotic Rocket Plane To Survey Martian Surface
- Smart Armor Knows Its Own Strength, As Well As The Enemy's
- Rat Brain Modelers Denounce IBM's Cat Brain Simulation as "Shameful and Unethical" Hoax
- At the International Robot Exhibition in Japan, Robots For Your Every Need
Most Emailed
- New Reactor Uses Sunlight to Turn Water and Carbon Dioxide Into Fuel
- World's First Osmotic Power Plant Goes Live in Norway
- High-Pressure Diamond Anvil Creates a New Solid from Xenon and Hydrogen
- President Obama Hopes to Jumpstart Science and Technology Education With New Initiative
- Mourning the Death of the Meta Media Experience
- The (Slightly) Poorer Man's Tesla: ECOS Harbinger
- Decoded Corn Genome Promises Higher Yields, Better Biofuels, New Plastics
- Everything You Need To Know About Chrome OS
- Roboticists Want to Make You an Electric Car Customized for Your Personal Commute
- "Time Traveling" Web Browser Let's You Search Like It's 1999
Today on PopSci.com
Copyright © 2009 Popular Science
A Bonnier Corporation Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
