"At a massive dairy farm in the San Joaquin Valley, nearly 14,000 Holstein cows crane their necks through feeding stalls and gnaw leisurely on alfalfa.
Meanwhile, close to their hooves, a sprinkler system activates and flushes the herd's manure into nearby sewer grates. From there, the waste courses through a network of pipes and into an enormous lagoon covered by a thick vinyl tarp.
This enclosed pool, which looks something like a giant whoopee cushion, is known as a digester, and it's the cornerstone of California's bid to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its $7.5-billion dairy industry.
California—the nation's leading dairy-producing state—is home to 1.7 million milk cows, which belch and excrete copious amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas capable of warming the atmosphere 80 times more than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period."
Tony Briscoe reports for the Los Angeles Times December 5, 2023.
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