EPA's Air Pollution Target: Flatulent Cows

Agency May Tax Livestock Farms For Greenhouse Gas Emissions; Farmers Furious

(AP)  For farmers, this stinks: Belching and gaseous cows and hogs could start costing them money if the federal government decides to charge fees for air-polluting animals.

Farmers so far are turning their noses up at the notion, which they contend is a possible consequence of an Environmental Protection Agency report after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that greenhouse gases emitted by belching and flatulence amounts to air pollution.

"This is one of the most ridiculous things the federal government has tried to do," said Alabama Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks, an outspoken opponent of the fees.

EPA officials insisted Friday that the lengthy, highly technical report, which mostly focuses on other sources of air pollution, does not include a proposal to tax livestock.

But the American Farm Bureau Federation said, based on federal agriculture department figures, it would require farms or ranches with more than 25 dairy cows, 50 beef cattle or 200 hogs to pay an annual fee of about $175 for each dairy cow, $87.50 per head of beef cattle and $20 for each hog.

The executive vice president of the Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation, Ken Hamilton, estimated the fee would cost owners of a modest-sized cattle ranch $30,000 to $40,000 a year. He said he has talked to a number of livestock owners about the proposals, and "all have said if the fees were carried out, it would bankrupt them."

Sparks said Wednesday he's worried the fee could be extended to chickens and other farm animals and cause more meat to be imported.

"We'll let other countries put food on our tables like they are putting gas in our cars. Other countries don't have the health standards we have," Sparks said.

The farm groups say the fee would apply to farms with livestock operations that emit more than 100 tons of carbon emissions in a year and fall under federal Clean Air Act provisions.

EPA officials said the agency has not taken a position on any of the matters discussed in its response to the Supreme Court ruling. And John Millett, a spokesman for EPA's air and radiation division, said there has been an oversimplification of the EPA's document "to the point of distortion."

"EPA is not proposing any type of tax on livestock," he said.

The EPA briefly mentions "raising livestock" in its report on ways to regulate greehnouse gases under the provisions of the Clean Air Act. Paul Schlegel, director of public policy for the American Farm Bureau Federation, said it determined the possible fees that could be imposed by using Agriculture Department statistics on the amount of greenhouse gases that come from livestock and applied it to the EPA's permitting rules.

Farmers from across the country have expressed outrage over the EPA report, both on Internet sites and in opinions sent to EPA during a public comment period that ended last week. Many call it a "cow tax" and say the EPA proposed it.

"It's something that really has a very big potential adverse impact for the livestock industry," said Rick Krause, the senior director of congressional relations for the American Farm Bureau Federation.

The fee would cover the cost of a permit for the livestock operations. While farmers say it would drive them out of business, an organization supporting the proposal hopes it forces the farms and ranches to switch to healthier crops.

"It makes perfect sense if you are looking for ways to cut down on meat consumption and recoup environmental losses," said Bruce Friedrich, a spokesman in Washington for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

"We certainly support making factory farms pay their fair share," he said.

U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt, a Republican from Haleyville in northwest Alabama, said he has spoken with EPA officials and doesn't believe the cow tax is a serious proposal that will ever be adopted by the agency.

"Who comes up with this kind of stuff?" said Perry Mobley, director of the Alabama Farmers Federation's beef division. "It seems there is an ulterior motive, to destroy livestock farms. This would certainly put them out of business."

[caco58]

JackP32 you have never farted in 60 years???? I laughed so hard I ripped a big one!!! Geeeeeeez. Let me guess, you have never *********** either

[jackp32]

Don''t blame me. I have never let one in my entire 60 yr. life. Many of you need to be corked. This is the only way to stop a gaseous society bent on perfuming the air we breathe.

[rf35]

Mark my words...the time will come when all Americans really will be going around with a stick up their butts!

[rf35]

Remember those "alien abduction" stories of people being tested with anal probes? Those were actually the government testing personal measuring devices to keep track of how much greenhouse gas individual Americans produce. Once perfected, every citizen will be fitted with one and charged a tax based on their measured farts.
Hey PETA goofball, eliminating meat from the American diet is not the answer. The increase in human flatulence caused by consuming more plant matter will off-set any savings from eliminating beef cows. Vegetarians *** more than omnivores.

[oneworldusa]

Ever worked on a Dairy farm? I have. Believe it or not, you get used to it. Cows are animals, big animals, and just like the rest of us, have to excuse themselves. You get used to it. Still, would you rather have milk for your children or fines for dairy farmers who produce the milk your children need? Farmers might get 30cents/gallon for the milk that costs you $4/gallon. All the rest goes to ''processing'' and ''shipping.''

[rushlimpdrug]

"EPA''s Air Pollution Target: Flatulent Cows"

Boy, a lot of farmer''s wives are gonna be
really mad.

[mtminds]

Ignore the belching smokestacks of the obsolete coal burning plants and the acid rain and smog that results from their high particulate pollution. Ignore the soot, and harm to lungs, equivalent to several packs of cigarettes a day in some areas. Ignore a source of pollution that is worse than every automobile in the US, coal burning plants and focus on cows.

Go Bush! Another mission accomplished.

[susanhelit]

You guys are falling for it again! Too funny! I guess there is a sucker born every minute.


Read the article. There''s no proposal to tax livestock. It''s all an overreaction by an industry going nuts and inventing a worst case scenario, to panic people and get the public on their side. Then a news agency prints it, because people going nuts is good for ratings, and everyone rants and raves and wonders what the world is coming to - over nothing.

[scottyusa]

Too funny buckfush! This whole thing is like watching SNL. Pretty soon we will all be taxed for our individual pollution (that won''t be funny). There is no end to what these idiots will do to get money. Cow farts, Too funny.

[octavianfdlr]

This is about Al Gore, the IPCC, and ubrew12 (ubrew12Co) attempting to destroy all life in the United States of America.

ubrew12Co do not care one whit about the envorinment: they refuse to tax big coal and oil in China, they support tropical wetland destruction, they push for increased mercury pollution, etc.

Now they have sued the EPA to tax farmers for cow farts and are blaming the President who opposed them for their success. ubrew12Co are some of the most duplicitous rats that ever sank a ship of state. Not an honest bone among them.

[peguesplace]

It sounds like the slaughter of the American bison might have been a step towards delaying global warming... But, now they have been replaced with even more bovines..
How sad. Maybe we should slaughter them all, too...
That would take the wind out of PETA''s sails, with no "mistreated" domestic stock left.... We could even get rid of the whitetailed deer which have shown such an increase over the past couple of decades..
This would allow the military could expand their "weekend warrior" training flights and maneuvers. Sort of a "sharing" of carbon credits, like that allowed for polluting industries.....

[louiville2]

These are the same maggots that brought us the Katrina disaster.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by mtee12

Ummm that was caused by Katrina, people who believe in a nanny state and Nagel dimwit. Now you dimwit''s are going to tax Children%u2019s milk.

[troutfisher4]

Folks, it is just basic math.

The average cow expels 600 liters of methane a day. With an estimated 100 million cows in the U.S., that is 60 BILLION liters of methane per day! Methane is by far a stronger greenhouse gas than CO2, so this source of greenhouse gas is very significant.

[search4truth-2009]

Let''s all do our part to stop man and animal made global warming!
I am farting in a bag everytime I need to ***. When the bag is full I am sending it to the EPA director''s office for "proper disposal".
I urge everyone to join me in sending their farts and any pet''s farts to the EPA director''s office until directed otherwise.
I am going to label and bag my dog''s farts seperately. I''d put a dog *** up against a cow *** any day for room clearing ability. I hope the EPA doesn''t get WIND of this or they''ll be taxing dog farts at double cow farts.

[ubrew12]

This is about the Bush administrations attempts to turn public opinion against those who fight against Global Warming.

BushCo could care less about Global Warming: they won''t tax big coal and oil, they won''t increase gas mileage standards significantly, they won''t push better lighting, etc.

But they would LOVE to tax farmers for cow farts and have the global warming advocates get blamed for the fallout. BushCo are some of the most duplicitous rats that ever sunk a ship of state. Not an honest bone among them

[wiswolf2]

As a resident of Wisconsin, where the three basic food groups are BEER, BRATS and CHEESE, I am now afraid....VERY afraid. I just visualized squadrons of gas-sniffing federal aircraft flying over our state and then ordering our governor to capture and prosecute any offending bovine,porcine or human violators. This gives a whole new meaning to...B.S.

[trumpetstuff]

Proposal: Why don`t you EPA bureaucrats and PETA guys pay taxes on your own farting and belching, and leave the farmers alone?

[earache4]

This is a real problem! The other day I cut into a rump roast and it farted!

[legacyabq]

The only way to reduce methane from cows is to have less cows, and that would only happen if people ate less meat, which can only be done on a voluntary basis. You cant tell people what to eat..
Of course, the government already tells us what to do and not do everyday, so who knows what bright ideas they will have next?

[legacyabq]

Well, Im all ofr protecting the environment, but this is rediculous, in its present form, if true..
Basically, a tax doesnt stop the actual methane, so whats the benefit??
Stupid.. What would they spend the money on? Unless its a big machine to suck up methane out of cows azzes, the only result would be to encourage the importation of South American beef due to lower production costs.. Which is worse, since they cut down oxygen-producing rainforest for cattle grazing down there..