The Oil Drum

I'm from Alberta where we have far more cattle than people and a good portion of these cattle are partially if not fully housed for a portion of winter. When combined with some sort of stationary winter feeding lot, collection of manure is not only useful - it is required. Manure is best when deposited on the field, I do not dispute this. What I have a problem with is the idea that AD should somehow be ignored as an energy option because it makes industrial farming more economical and viable. Is it then better to allow slaughterhouse and feedlot operators to NOT better use the masses of manure and entrails they have? Is it better for them to let it settle in open ponds, burp methane into the atmosphere and offend people for fifty miles in every direction? How about spreading it on fields after insuficient aeration treatment? I'm not so sure. Call it green, call it brown. Either way, AD is an effective means of extracting highly useable gas from an organic wastestream. I'm convinced that it is as useful at small scales as it is for large scales. The Chinese peasant will back me up. Even when it helps big agribusiness conglomerates continue to produce cheap, abundant, if somewhat morally and ecologically disruptive food to fill our fat bellies. Panning AD as an energy system because we dissaprove of a particular industries practices isn't particularly constructive. Industries will change as energy availability evolves - but AD will remain possible, feasible and desirable. Instead of worrying that AD will make the bad guys rich, why not support its development as we would a more efficient car. When a higher standard in CAFE is announced are we to complain that this will just perpetuate the problem?