Holy Cow

I may have to rethink my choice of organic milk brand. Straus Family Creamery gets all of its energy needs from its own cows, according this BusinessWeek article by Olga Kharif:

In mid-May, he installed a device called a methane digester. The $250,000 system, built partly with government grants, uses bacteria to ferment the waste and produce methane gas. That gas, in turn, generates 1,800 kilowatt hours of energy a day, which is more than twice what the farm uses. It also heats 5,000 gallons of water to 180 degrees Fahrenheit, so the water can be used for cleaning equipment or pasteurizing milk. Better yet, Straus says with a touch of pride, "When you come onto our farm, you can't smell anything at all."

Well, it doesn't do anything for carbon dioxide emissions, but it does decrease other pollutants, dependance on foreign oil, and ecologically damaging disposal. Not to mention the smell. Plus their milk comes in pretty glass bottles with shiny red foil tops.