Fart Battery Factory
Turning cow farts into power — satire meets sustainability.
I have read about the news that New Zealand wants tax farmers for their cows’ burps and farts and I am also concerned about the greenhouse effect of burping and farting in dairy farming. My concern prompted me to investigate the various initiatives developed to reduce methane emissions from dairy farming.
After conducting thorough research, I created a digital animation using 3D software to satirize the blind pursuit of environmental protection by humans. At the same time, this project calls for people to pay attention to the greenhouse gases produced by animal husbandry, to take a rational attitude towards environmental issues, and ro re-imagine the future of energy.
Background
The New Zealand government plans to impose a tax on the country’s 47 million sheep and 10 million cattle to curb the odor generated by their farts, which pollute the environment.
Modern dairy farming entails a huge number of dairy animals that fart and burp, thereby producing large amounts of methane gas. The gas produced exacerbates the greenhouse effect, leading to increased global warming as a result of increased greenhouse gas emissions.
Annual methane emissions by sectors:
40.0 % Agricultural, Animal husbandry
29.6 % Fossil fuel retrieval, processing, and distribution
18.1 % Waste disposal and treatment
6.6 % Land use and biomass burning
4.8 % Residential, commercial and other sources
Cows are larger than other animals and therefore emit more greenhouse gases. Fundamentally, the large number of dairy cows being kept in expansive ranches makes making this problem increasingly serious. For instance, methane emissions for every one cow amounts to 110.7kg annually. This is the equivalent of 14 sheep, 22 goats or 74 pigs.
In this respect, over the past few years, there has been an increasing need to develop ways to reasonably reduce carbon emissions from animal husbandry. In the process of conducting my research, I found many different solutions, but they all had some limitations.
Proposed Solutions
Vaccines have been developed to target the microbes in the cows digestive system that produce methane gas.
Disadvantages: Imperfect technology that is still under development, high research costs.
Selection for small-bodied cows with fewer burps and farts.
Disadvantages: Cows are prone to deformities, abortions, etc., and it is impossible to achieve large scale breed changes to this effect.
Development of seaweed as an addictive to livestock feed to inhibit methane synthesis in the digestive tract.
Disadvantages: The cow’s body can become resistant to the drug after long-term use. It also causes loss of appetite in cows, resulting in reduced production.
Scientists in Argentina have invented a fart bag that can be inserted directly into a cow’s stomach and then extract the methane inside.
Disadvantages: Excessive costs and construction costs.
The cow’s nose hood is fitted with a methane filter that absorbs methane from the cow’s own burp and converts it to carbon dioxide.
Disadvantages: Excessive costs and construction costs.
Concept Development
When dealing with agricultural carbon emissions, we must consider many aspects and maintain a balanced development of economy and environment. Inspired by the research I made, I conceived a conspiracy theory story and planned to make it into an animated short film, which will be developed into a game in the future.
I would like to showcase the idea of developing a “cow-fart battery collection device” as an innovative solution to a pressing environmental problem caused by greenhouse gasses through an animation. The dairy industry is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, and methane, which is released by cows as a result of their digestive processes, is one of the worst greenhouse gases. By developing technology that can capture and recycle these gases, we can reduce the environmental impact of dairy farming and help to mitigate climate change.
Sketches & Drafts
Storytelling
A biological laboratory invented a “cow-fart battery collection device” in the future, which can efficiently recycle the greenhouse gases emitted by dairy farming and convert them into electrical energy stored in batteries.
In response to strong calls from all sectors, the device has been highly praised in anticipation for its launch. All large scale dairy farms around the world are expected to widely adopt the use of this product.
After obtaining a large amount of profits, the laboratory did not regularly inspect the quality of products from major factories, and the device did not achieve the expected results.
Instead, they took advantage of the panic caused by the climate crisis to continue promoting their other products and services.
Subsequently, they developed a “waste gas absorber” for humans, which can absorb all greenhouse gases anytime and anywhere through the use of this device, thus achieving the goal of self-circulation. They also claimed that this device can completely solve the climate crisis on Earth.
Those who have previously complained about the phenomenon of the climate crisis are convinced of this, and they ignore deeper issues, blindly wearing the device and continuing to immerse themselves in the joy of solving the climate crisis…
Future Exploration: Gaming
In future, I would like to develop this animation into a video game. Currently, the animation describes and showcases ways to capture and recycle waste gases produced by cows and using a cow fart battery collection device, these gases can be collected and recycled, hence minimizing their impact on the environment. The player will choose between acting as a scientist or animal husbandry worker, trying to find a solution to this problem. The video game will go a long way in creating awareness about this environmental problem and encouraging people to find lasting solutions.
