Out There: Can we make cow poop less bad for the climate?

This is the web version of our email newsletter, Out There! Sign up to get our weekly dose of all things environment — from creatures you might encounter on your next stroll, to a critical look at the state's energy transition, plus ways to take part in community science and a roundup of local outdoor events.

It’s Thursday, June 15. Here’s what’s on deck:

• The worst fire season in Canadian history
• Can Vermont get gas guzzlers to go electric?
• Remembering the biologist behind “save the whales”
• Loon cam is live

Making cow poop less poopy for the planet

Elodie Reed

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Vermont Public

Vermont has a lot of cows, which means a lot of cow poop. When all that waste breaks down it releases methane – a potent climate-warming gas methane. Some farms in Vermont are giving their cow poop a second life so it doesn’t go straight into the atmosphere, thanks to something called an anaerobic digester. It can turn manure into biogas, which farms can burn to produce electricity. But… does that actually cut emissions?

• Well, biodigesters ARE still putting greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. But many of them turn methane (remember: super potent greenhouse gas) into carbon dioxide (still a greenhouse gas, but less potent) when electricity is created.
• At some farms, gas produced by the digester is refined on site. At that point, it’s almost PURE methane and can be injected into a natural gas pipeline. And the market is 🔥
• Some environmental groups say there’s a risk to the climate if farms decide to get bigger just to send more methane to gas pipelines (more $$) instead of letting their cow poop sit, if they didn’t have a biodigester.

Now that’s some food for thought! You can watch our explainer here and listen and read more here.

In other news...

🌲Canada is having what’s shaping up to be its worst fire season on record: Across the country, more than 15x the amount of the area has burned compared to the average for this time of year. There have been fires in almost every province this year, though most have been far from the biggest population centers. Quebec now has close to 100 active fires (which is better than it was). 

☃️It’s been a weird spring. While over 11 million acres in Canada has been on fire (and most of Vermont is still abnormally dry), in New Hampshire Mt. Washington got its most snowfall on record for the month of June. They’ve already hit over 8 inches at the summit, and still counting.

🚚$$ for gas guzzlers to switch to EVs: Burlington is trying to get drivers who use the most gasoline to go electric. A new law lets a local utility experiment with incentives. The details of who qualifies and how much money they get to upgrade to an EV are still in the works, but the program could start as early as this winter.

🐋Save the whales: When Roger Payne first heard the sound of humpback whales, he thought “the world has to hear this.” The recordings he made in 1970 played a key role in igniting the modern environmental movement, and helped bring whales back from the brink of extinction. Payne died at his home in S. Woodstock this month at 88.

In your backyard: Eastern Cottonwood

Reed Nye

Get out there

🗺️Be prepared: Sign up for one of the women's outdoor survival classes offered by Doe Camp Nation starting June 17. Learn skills like building an emergency shelter, starting fires, and navigating in the woods.

🐦Bird curious? Join a free intro to birding class in Middlebury on Saturday with the avian-savvy folks from Otter Creek Audubon Society. They’ll have loaner binoculars available.  

🌱Get growing: Join a permaculture gardening workshop in Woodstock for $15 to learn the basics of no-till growing. It’s led by a master gardener who designs the Sunflower House at Billings Farm & Museum each year. 

🦋115 possibilities: See if you can identify one of Vermont's many butterfly species and contribute to the Vermont Butterfly Atlas.

One last thing

Volunteers at the Lake Fairlee Association have set up a loon cam to watch the lake’s pair of the iconic, eerie-sounding birds. The camera shows the loons’ floating nest. Volunteers are watching closely to see if the pair will lay eggs.

“It’s not too late, but it's very late for ours,” Doug Tifft, Lake Fairlee’s “loon ranger,” told the Valley News.

The camera will likely be up through the end of July.

Thanks for reading! If you have ideas for events we should feature, critters, fungi or plants you want to learn more about, or other feedback on this new venture, we'd love to hear from you! Just email us.

Credits: Out There is put together by Lexi Krupp, Abagael Giles, Joia Putnoi and Brittany Patterson, with lots of help from the Vermont Public team including graphics by Laura Nakasaka and Elodie Reed. Special thanks to Reed Nye, along with Aaron Marcus and Brooke Fleischman for sharing their expertise on cottonwood trees.