Argentina's National Institute of Agricultural Technology has found a way to use cows as a power source. It involves collecting methane produced by their digestive process, which is used for fuel. The visual of the methodology is quite surreal, as the cows have tubes coming out of their sides and a brightly colored balloon of gas mounted on their back. Each cow produces enough methane to power a refrigerator for a day. Some might be concerned about whether or not the method is humane, but it also highlights an unexpected way of getting energy, something that we might want to start exploring more in the future.
Essentially, it's time to start looking at waste products as a way of powering things in our lives. The cow version in Argentina is a bit extreme, given that it involves surgery and big methane balloons. However, right now there are millions of cows in barns producing waste, and that waste can also be used to get methane. Same deal with all manner of livestock, and people as well. Waste is created around the world, much of it producing methane, which can be used as a fuel.
It's not the first I've heard of the idea, or similar programs to collect things like used baby diapers to create power. It's one of those ideas that should have been developed years ago, but hasn't because of a basic revulsion to feces. It's an understandable revulsion, and nobody really wants to work with the stuff, but as an energy source it actually makes a great deal of sense.
Think of it this way, people and animals create a great deal of waste, every day. They're not going to stop doing it, because so long as you're alive, you're going to be creating that waste. So, you've got an infinitely renewable resource, because unlike things like oil it's not going to go away any time soon, and if it does go away we clearly won't be around to worry about that problem.
The problem then is collection. Dealing with animals in a barn, one has to clean up the mess anyway, so collect it and use equipment to get the fuel. Some can also be set aside for fertilizer, as it's used now. For people, it's all sent to the sewer system, so it would be a matter of figuring out a system for collecting the methane. The babies have the easiest part of the program, since a diaper collection program would be welcomed by parents and it could even pay for itself at both ends, with a nominal fee for collection as well as a fee for the production of power.
I'm not saying it would be easy, or cheap, just that it's something worth considering for the sake of energy production. That's because it's one of the rare energy sources that isn't finite, and it grows as the population requiring it grows. Sure, it's not pleasant, and we don't want to think of where this stuff goes after we flush the toilet. As far as I can tell, this is the only reason that this has never really been explored before. It just goes against our very instinct, a hard-wired revulsion towards our own excrement, helpful in avoiding parasites and diseases for millions of years.
So it's naturally counter-intuitive to consider anything useful in what we flush down the toilet or throw in the trash. But if we can harness this as a power source, it's worth some research at least.
