SMOKIN' S***

There's been a lot of hype lately about manure, a "byproduct" of animal farming, as a fuel source, as though this now justifies exploiting and killing the animals who produce it. But it's worth keeping in mind that this byproduct can also be fuel for other things, such as the 2,000-ton pile of burning cow manure in Milford, Nebraska that's been going for more than two months now.

As often happens, the catchy lede to the article verbalizes the cognitive dissonance required of meat-eaters, even as it attempts to downplay it: "Urban dwellers who enjoy dining on filet mignon at five-star restaurants would probably just as soon not know about David Dickinson's dilemma. Bad for the appetite, you know." David Dickinson's dilemma is "a dung pile measuring 100 feet long, 30 feet high and 50 feet wide that began burning about two months ago and continues to smolder despite Herculean attempts to douse it. While city folks might have trouble imagining a dung pile of such proportions, they are common sights in rural states." Common sights... and smells!