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Cows On Treadmills Produce Clean Power For Farms

separsons writes "William Taylor, a farmer in Northern Ireland, recently developed the Livestock Power Mill, a treadmill for cows. Taylor uses the device to generate clean, renewable power for his farm. Cows are locked into a pen on top of a non-powered, inclined belt. The cows' walking turns the belt, which spins a gearbox to drive a generator. One cow can produce about two kilowatts of electricity, enough energy to power four milking machines. It may seem like a kooky idea, but Taylor could be onto something: According to his calculations, if the world's 1.3 billion cattle used treadmills for eight hours a day, they could provide six percent of the world's power!"

18 of 640 comments (clear)

  1. But it's not as cool as... by gestalt_n_pepper · · Score: 3, Funny

    sharks with lasers.

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  2. "Does your farm run on solar power?" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    "No, sirloin power!"

  3. Re:Two kilowatts... by Jeian · · Score: 2, Funny

    Don't you mean "cowpower?"

  4. Re:Meat cows? by ATestR · · Score: 4, Funny

    One cow can produce about two kilowatts of electricity, enough energy to power four milking machines.

    The real question is: Does it make the Milk tough?

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  5. Blasphemy! by Locke2005 · · Score: 3, Funny

    How do the Hindus feel about their ancestors being forced into manual labor like this, when they could have used human beings instead? And how does the cost of buying and maintaining a cow treadmill compare to the cost of a solar power array that would generate 2 kilowatts without the constant trouble of cleaning all the cow shit off of it? Cows are one of the least efficient animals at turning grain into meat; I suspect they are also grossly inefficient at turning grain into power. If you take that same grain, ferment it, distill it, and use it to power an engine, how much more or less power output would you get?

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  6. Re:Food? by BadAnalogyGuy · · Score: 4, Funny

    Apparently you've never watched cows grazing out in an open field.

    I saw one open a box of oreos and eat it right in the aisle at Safeway. She was sitting on a scooter, so that probably changes the whole exercise dynamic, though.

  7. Re:Food? by bradm · · Score: 3, Funny

    TFA says that cows walk around 8 hours a day grazing anyway.

    Let's get to the more important questions: What impact does all that captive exercise have on the tasty dairy and beef products so critical to maintaining our waistlines and thickening our arteries?

    If it makes the beef even better and generates power, it's a total win.

    (With unheartfelt apologies to the veg types in the crowd).

  8. Re:Food? by nedlohs · · Score: 4, Funny

    The cows around your parts must be completely different than the lazy fucks around here.

    Sure they take a step now and then when their mouth can't reach anything edible anymore, but I wouldn't really call it "walking".

    Just ask an Intelligent Designer, they'll explain that cows are so lazy they only bothered walking part way up the hill when the flood came and hence were fossilized in the middle instead of at the top, like the less lazy people.

  9. Re:Food? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Yup, just the opposite of those millions of hard-working shellfish that managed to climb to the tops of huge mountain ranges in order to be fossilized.

  10. Re:What? by Explodicle · · Score: 4, Funny

    It's used in conjunction with a form of nuclear fusion. Just an intermediate step before plugging them into the Meatrix.

  11. Before we discuss cruelty to animals.. by HockeyPuck · · Score: 2, Funny

    Have you ever seen a field or corn, wheat or strawberries? Those plants are packed in tight. This is completely opposite to how plants grow in the wild. It's so cruel that we force these plants to grow in tight, geometric formations, never able to get proper air circulation, we force grow them in pots which is never found in the wild and in densities never intended to by our mother, earth.

    1. Re:Before we discuss cruelty to animals.. by Orga · · Score: 2, Funny

      This is why I'm a carnivore, I don't believe in the senseless killing of millions of plants when I can kill just a few animals instead.

  12. Re:Food? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Hint to mods: parent complaint is 'Funny' not 'Insightful'

    Hint back at you: a Funny mod doesn't improve the recipient's karma and an Insightful one does. So those in the know tend to save their Funny mods for ACs and for posts they think are wrong but in an interesting way.

  13. Re:Torture? ASPCA should investigate. by Macrat · · Score: 2, Funny

    Beef tastes better when you've named it.

  14. Re:Food? by cayenne8 · · Score: 4, Funny
    "You forgot the methane and C02 produced by the cows."

    A small price to pay for yummy milk, cheeses, steaks and roasts...

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  15. Re:Food? by MiniMike · · Score: 4, Funny

    Could the scooter fit on a treadmill?

  16. Re:Food? by jamesh · · Score: 2, Funny

    A hint for you. If you worry about how your moderation is going to affect someone's karma then you are doing it wrong. If the post is funny, mod it funny. If it's insightful, mod it insightful, etc. Other peoples karma is not your problem.

  17. Re:Food? by jDeepbeep · · Score: 2, Funny

    I once witnessed a battle of two morbidly obese women, both "sort of" in line to check out, in fat-carts. They were hitting each other with rolls of paper toweling (still wrapped up) and shouting about who was first in line. I took one look and realized I might never again be graced with a vision of consumer culture so vividly. It was awesome.

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