I was reading an article in the Evansville Courier & Press by Nate Jenkins. It was entitled, "Cow-powered ethanol plants?" The article discusses how some ethanol plants in the Midwest, such as one in Mead, Nebraska, plans to use methane from cow manure to provide the energy for an ethanol plant. This not only solves a dilemma of where to obtain energy needed to produce ethanol but also, it minimizes the amount of methane entering the atmosphere and aggravating the greenhouse effect.

As I read this brief but powerful article, I thought about what is occurring in Southern Indiana. There is a great deal of excitement on the part of many as to the future of ethanol for the state. Yet, it seems that those in charge of producing this ethanol and financing the ethanol plants, have not thought through how to obtain the energy to make the ethanol. Instead of looking at methane as a power source, some are stooping to burning tires, which just exacerbates environmental problems. I only wish that those producing the ethanol around here would have the same idea that those in Nebraska, Kansas and other states are having, which is to use methane from the many neighboring farms to power these plants. I am not aware of any ethanol plants in our area even exploring the possibilty of locating near a cattle feedlot. This seems like such a wasted opportunity and not just from the power perspective. The article notes that the cattle eat the wet distiller's grain that is a by-product of the ethanol production. It appears that we could not only be doing a better job from an environmental perspective but also, we could be feeding our cows better, as well. Instead of having to buy so much animal feed, cattle farmers could use this by-product and perhaps, improve their bottom line as well.