Waste Not, Watt Not

"The cow is of the bovine ilk;
One end is moo; the other, milk."

If Ogden Nash were writing this poem today, he might want to add a line or two. In the new millennium, both ends of our bovine friends are under scrutiny � but for very different reasons. While governments are trying to figure out how to control cow burping, a significant factor in global warming, cow manure is gaining popularity as one of Earth's greenest sources of electricity.

Methane in Lake Kivu: Large quantities of methane and carbon dioxide are dissolved at the bottom Lake Kivu which lies on the border of Congo and Rwanda, Africa. In January of this year, nearby Mount Nyiragongo erupted. If lava were to flow into Lake Kivu, the heating effect would cause the methane and carbon dioxide to be released, with potentially deadly results.