"YADKINVILLE -- Google, of all companies, last year got into the business of hog poop."
"It joined a project started by Duke University, Duke Energy and a Yadkin County farmer to pull the potent greenhouse gas methane from swine waste and use it to generate electricity or simply burn it off. The Internet giant and the university get to claim credit for offsetting the climate-changing carbon emissions generated during creation of the energy they use, and the power company is making strides toward new state requirements for generating electricity from hog waste.
Meanwhile, a couple of long-promising approaches for nearly eliminating pollution and odor from swine waste are inching closer to meeting standards that could force pork producers to retrofit them on most North Carolina pig farms. ...
Much has changed in the 15 years since state officials first got serious about finding a cleaner way to treat the waste from North Carolina’s 9 million-plus hogs.
But much hasn’t."
Jay Price reports for the Raleigh News & Observer November 25, 2012.
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