The stench of cow feces, urine and ammonia forces residents to keep windows and doors closed in parts of California's farming country.
FILE - A line of Holstein dairy cows feed through a fence at a dairy farm in Idaho on March 11, 2009.
In recent decades, digesters that convert manure and other organic waste into biogas to create electricity or to power vehicles have spread across the country. Environmental justice organizations say mostly low-income, Latino communities are dealing with pollution from nearby digesters, and they want California to stop providing financial incentives for more. Critics also say state policies favor industrial dairies, entrenching unsustainable animal agriculture.
Supporters note that biofuel from methane reduces pollution by replacing fossil fuels like gasoline with cleaner vehicle fuel. “Having a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is good, but you also want to think about the human health impact,” said lead author Michael A. Holly, an associate professor at the Green Bay campus.
Maria Arevalo, a 74-year-old activist and former farmworker, believes her asthma and sleep apnea are linked to pollution from dairies near her home in Pixley. She sleeps with a machine to help her breathe. So do her son, 34, and grandson, 11. “The storage of hundreds of thousands of gallons of liquid manure ... pollutes the air and water of surrounding communities,” they said. "This inherently unsustainable manure storage system is only further entrenched by ... digesters.”Researchers have found nearly 40% of methane emissions from human activity come from livestock and agriculture. EPA estimates each cow can produce 154 to 264 pounds of methane annually.
Digesters Manure Methane Pollution Biofuel California Emissions
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