Guest essay by Eric Worrall
Governor Jerry “Moonbeam” Brown has just signed a law to require dairy farmers to reduce bovine methane emissions.
California targets dairy cows to combat global warming
GALT, Calif. – California is taking its fight against global warming to the farm.
The nation’s leading agricultural state is now targeting greenhouse gases produced by dairy cows and other livestock.
Despite strong opposition from farmers, Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation in September that for the first time regulates heat-trapping gases from livestock operations and landfills.
Cattle and other farm animals are major sources of methane, a greenhouse gas many times more potent than carbon dioxide as a heat-trapping gas. Methane is released when they belch, pass gas and make manure.
“If we can reduce emissions of methane, we can really help to slow global warming,” said Ryan McCarthy, a science adviser for the California Air Resources Board, which is drawing up rules to implement the new law.
…
In the nation’s largest milk-producing state, the new law aims to reduce methane emissions from dairies and livestock operations to 40 percent below 2013 levels by 2030, McCarthy said. State officials are developing the regulations, which take effect in 2024.
“We expect that this package … and everything we’re doing on climate, does show an effective model forward for others,” McCarthy said.
Dairy farmers say the new regulations will drive up costs when they’re already struggling with five years of drought, low milk prices and rising labor costs. They’re also concerned about a newly signed law that will boost overtime pay for farmworkers.
“It just makes it more challenging. We’re continuing to lose dairies. Dairies are moving out of state to places where these costs don’t exist,” said Paul Sousa, director of environmental services for Western United Dairymen.
…
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/11/29/california-targets-dairy-cows-to-combat-global-warming.html
The number of Californian people and businesses fleeing overregulation and high costs reached a record high last year. I doubt the new cow fart law will do anything to reassure people who haven’t yet joined the great Californian exodus.
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The tyranny of the coastal elites continues.
I do have a problem with California regulations.
The power company I worked for had investigated Anaerobic Digestion (AD) and found it to be a viable renewable technology. Where I worked Washington State had 90,000 dairy cow in Yakima County and a 100,000 feedlot in the other direction. We got the renewable energy manager to come out to our area. Next thing you know we have a team identifying a portfolio of projects in Washington, Oregon, and California. Everybody was excited.
To actually make electricity you need a few things. First you need a dairy farmer that will talk to you. Had a few.
Then you need regulators who will not kill small power projects. I found one county guy with a one man office in the basement of the courthouse. He said if I could get a farmer to go along, he would call it agricultural processing equipment. Makes sense that a 2 MWe power plant that eliminates an odor issue is reducing pollution.
Finally, you need a local utility to partner with. All some workers at a small public utility district of electric COOP need to know is that it will help their customers.
Found a few of those but many do not want to be bothered.
California did not need heavy handed regulations to put AD on dairy farms. The projects were there 20 years ago. Places like UC Davis had done lots of research. The problems is central valley farmers are not sexy enough for Hollywood. Farming is not glamorous or high tech enough. If GOOGLE wanted to make electricity an AD on a farm would make more sense than PV on their roof.
Nuke plants and AD may be good solutions for ghg but the wrong people (working people) do it.
So what will the new regulations do? Increase the number of dairy cows in Idaho’s Magic Valley.
Yes Kit. Not In My Backyard is almost a hymn in California. No Nukes! No Cow Farts! No Oil Drilling! We want clean power (but of course we want power and if you brown or black us out we’ll sue).
It’s completely nonsensical Kit, which means there’s no room at all for rational argument. The people driving California’s energy policy are all failed intellectuals with no accomplishments to support them; an empty room occupied by people who live in Mom’s basement.
The sad part of this is California is a very nice place. There’s a reason people want to live here. We gave the world semiconductors. Software. High quality celery and artichokes. Cheap milk. Chickens. The best wines in the world.
And Governor Moonbeam is dedicated to ending all that. Petaluma will be a ghost town. Paso Robles will be a home for the homeless. Thanks Jerry (“Ed”) and Pat (another “Ed”). Good thing you both used aliases. Harder to track you down.
Used to work at a nuke plant in California. It is now the ‘no state’ not the golden state. There are no parking signs every 50 yards up the Pacific Coast Highway.
In Texas there is free camping on the beach.
We avoid California and only go there to visit friends and family. The state is on our list of places not to live. There is zero chance of living there without the government trying tell you how to live.
There are a how lot of places in the US where goverment does what goverment should and leaves you alone the rest of the time.
“No Dogs”. “No Beer”. “No Parking” and “No Gas”. Yep, the “No” State fits pretty well.
I’m staying though, and I’m fighting. No one runs me off my land. Remember the Alamo.
Governor Moonbeam has sealed the fate of Democrats in The Great State of California. This level of stupidity won’t go unnoticed.
Of course Moonbeam, the environmentalist, neglects to recall the herds of flatulent buffalo who once roamed the prairies of Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, the Dakotas and other very large areas. Nope; he missed that fart (sorry, “part”).
Brown has gone over the top, round the bend, and into never-never land. I regret to admit he’s claimed to be a Buddhist. He’s a waste of perfectly good oxygen and the reason California desperately needs to revise its voter registration laws.
Here is a link:
AgSTAR: Biogas Recovery in the Agriculture Sector: https://www.epa.gov/agstar
Many years ago when I first visited this site there were 16 operational AD. Now there is over 260. California has 13.
What about all the hot air from the capital? Isn’t it time we reduce those emissions? SMH
I’m reminded of the tv commercial where the cows are walking around with “Eat Mor Chiken” signs in an effort to convince people to eat chickens instead of cows, and I’m thinking once those cows find out about Brown’s new climate change solution involving them, the cows are going to start pointing the hooves at chickens and claiming the chickens are the ones with the flatulence problem, now the poor ole cows.
Leave the cows alone, Jerry Brown! Let the chickens eat seaweed.
LOL WHAT DID THIS STUDY COST TAXPAYERS
To include urban dweller as well as farm worker methane emissions, California will have to ban the sale and use of all ingredients for refried beans. It will be fun to watch the cognitive dissonance this example of enviro-racism creates within the SJW Conservation Left.
“new cow fart law ” And people wonder why we have a electoral republic from of government.
They should regulate stupid politicians instead.
Anywhere from 50-100 million buffalo roamed North America belching and flatulating but dairy cows need gas recirculation devises? Get real.
The way that I would like to see the problems faced by these dairy and cattle ranchers is to crack down on the big banks who are speculating and trading in futures. I do not oppose commodities trading and futures, as long as it does not involve the basic necessities of life such as food, and especially dairy and beef. There is no reason for Goldman Sachs and others to be trading in futures for the basic necessities of life.
Next I would like the organics growers to be closely watched so that they cannot obtain waivers from existing laws, such as minimum wage hikes or bans on the use of the sawed off hoe for weeding. Waivers from laws are unconstitutional and illegal.
And finally, I sense the glee of the cannabis lobby in driving out cattle in hopes of establishing Big Dope. I could wish that they would choke on their Big Dope, but I already know that they will. That is the problem that Californians and Coloradans need to understand. Setting up an illegitimate and worthless but lucrative economy in their state will not only be destructive to the young people and communities and families, but it will by nature always seek to supplant and destroy legitimate economic interests. Your choice is between butter and cheese or cannabis. Pay attention.
California liberals really are foolish. In their own wisdom they are as utter fools. Man will not destroy the earth, but He who is before all things, and in him all things are held together.
The Holy Bible is alive more than ever in these times. Jesus is Lord to the glory of the Father, amen.