A conversation with a rancher in Wyoming about methane capture

I was fueling up outside Cheyenne and got talking to a rancher about the new digesters some folks are installing. He called them 'a greenwashing tax write-off' and said the real fix was just having fewer cows. It stuck with me because his family's been ranching there for generations. Is he right that we're focusing on tech fixes over harder changes?

2 comments

2 Comments

maxb4615d ago

That rancher's point about herd size hits on a bigger pattern. Look at plastic recycling symbols. We focused on the little triangle tech fix for decades, not making less plastic. Now we know most of it was never recycled. It feels like we keep picking the fix that lets us keep the habit, not the one that changes it. Maybe we're scared to admit some systems just need to shrink, not get a new gadget.

river19015d agoMost Upvoted

Maybe the tech fixes are a needed first step though. People won't just drop a habit cold turkey. Those recycling symbols at least got the idea into public talk, even if the system was broken. The new gadget can build the path to real change, it just can't be the only thing we do. Shrinking systems feels like a loss, but showing a better alternative through tech might make it easier to accept.