Bill Gates Is Trying to Get Cows to Stop Farting
Prince Charles’ prize backs face mask that cuts methane emissions from cow burps
Bill Gates Is Trying to Get Cows to Stop Farting
It’s important to have goals.
BY TIM NEWCOMBPUBLISHED: JAN 26, 2023
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Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures is investing in an Australian climate tech company focused on livestock methane emissions.
By decreasing livestock methane emissions, the U.N. believes it can reduce greenhouse gas.
Bill Gates has invested in over 100 climate tech startups.
If only we could get cows to burp and fart less, we may be able to clean up some air pollution. That’s the theory behind an Australian climate tech company, Rumin8, now backed by Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures.
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Rumin8 says it makes “affordable feed supplements that reduce methane emissions from livestock.” And that’s a hot topic in climate conversations.
The United Nations Environment Program says methane is the “primary contributor to the formation of ground-level ozone, a hazardous air pollutant and greenhouse gas.” They also say that 32 percent of human-caused agriculture emissions comes from the methane release from livestock manure, farts, and burps, about 3.7 percent of all human-led greenhouse gas emissions.
That leaves folks worried about cows and their bodily functions. Gates included.
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Prince Charles’ prize backs face mask that cuts methane emissions from cow burps
By: Rosie Frost
(Arthur Edwards/Pool via REUTERS)
A device that fits around the face of cattle and cuts methane emissions from their burps has won a £50,000 (€59,502) award backed by the British royal, Prince Charles.
The mask was designed by students from the Royal College of Art in the UK, who were one of four teams to be chosen as winners of the inaugural Terra Carter Design Lab competition. The prize money will go towards further developing their idea.
The device converts methane emitted by cows and was created by a design group called the Zero Emissions Livestock Project (ZELP). It neutralizes methane emissions in real-time and fits around the cow’s head in a way that doesn’t impact its ability to feed and interact with the herd.
Gases captured by the mask are oxidized using a catalyst and then released into the air as CO2 and water vapor. Its designers say that data is also captured throughout the life of the animal to help optimize welfare on farms, improve productivity and create a ‘robust’ log of greenhouse gas emissions.
There are around 1.6 billion cattle on the planet and each produces up to 400 liters of methane a day. Emitted via belching or farting, this makes them significant contributors to the problem of global warming.