Converting cow manure to fuel is growing climate solution, but critics say communities put at risk

abcnews.go.com:

California has become a leader in curbing methane emissions from dairy farms, a major source of the greenhouse gas

PIXLEY, Calif. — The stench of cow feces, urine and ammonia forces residents to keep windows and doors closed in parts of California's farming country. Some people constantly run air purifiers at home to counter the smell and, they say, fight off air-related ailments.

«We have a lot of health problems going around in this community and most of them are respiratory problems,” said Beverly Whitfield amid dairies in Pixley, a small town in Tulare County. She believes her allergies, her adult son's asthma and others' breathing issues are linked to pollution from nearby dairies.

Industrial-scale dairy farms already are among the biggest polluters in the San Joaquin Valley, a premier U.S. agricultural region with poor air quality. Now residents like Whitfield worry methane digesters, which can turn manure into a biofuel that is cleaner than traditional fuels like gasoline, could exacerbate health issues. Biofuel experts say digesters can reduce air pollution.

Home to about 1.7 million cows, California is the country's leading dairy producer and a large contributor of methane. Cow burps and manure emit the potent planet-warming gas, which over a shorter period is much more powerful than carbon dioxide.

In recent decades, digesters that convert manure and other organic waste into biogas to create electricity or to power vehicles have spread across the country.

The number's expected to grow since waste management practices such as digesters became eligible for funding from the Inflation Reduction Act — President Joe Biden’s law to combat climate change.

Most digesters are in dairies that capture methane from