Cow Powered

Listening to two fellas the other day comparing their big rigs I overheard the one say that his truck ran on cow power. Now, I have heard of horse-powered, but cow-powered? Reportedly the diesel trucks he uses on his farm have been converted to operate on methane gas produced from the waste of his dairy cows. The converted methane gas to fuel is not only good for the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions but is cleaner burning than diesel. Converting the methane gas at present though is not a cheap process, but hopefully continued research will result in a more affordable conversion. Reportedly, the benefits of switching from diesel fuel to methane could be compared to taking sixteen million cars off the road. That is a figure not easily dismissed. And, no pun intended, looking down the road, the possibility of more methane rigs on our nation’s highways than diesel no longer seems that far fetched  They say need is the mother of invention; there is definitely a need, and methane is looking like the mother load.