Mark's Madness

CARB spends $350k on Cow Fart Meters

California Air Resources Board are deploying 7 devices across California to measure the methane emissions from cows at a taxpayer expense of $350,000-400,000.  The purpose of the study is to determine if the estimated impact of cow farts on the composition of greenhouse gases and their effect on global warming.  The methane in cow farts contributes to a surprisingly-high 5% of all global warming gasses out there, with methane being 22 times more potent at capturing atmospheric heat than carbon dioxide. The good news?  California is spending tons of money on new equipment to benchmark this issue, while letting inmates out of jail to balance the budget.  The devices should be up and running by May 2010.