Question

Under an agreement with U.S. regulators, American Electric Power Company of Columbus, Ohio, has agreed to offset part of its $145$million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions by paying another company to lay plastic tarps. These tarps cover farm lagoons holding rotting livestock wastes that emit methane gas $21$times more damaging to the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. The annual methane produced by a typical $1,330$pound cow translates into about $5$metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year.

a. How many cows' worth of manure would have to be covered to offset the carbon dioxide emissions of this single electric utility?

b. Given that there are about 9 million cows in the United States in a typical year, what percentage of its carbon dioxide emissions could this firm offset if it paid for all cow manure in the entire nation to be covered with tarps?

Short answer

(a) Carbon pollution of solitary electricity provider, $29$million calves' amount or excrement will have to be blanketed.

(b) The percentage of its carbon dioxide emissions could this firm offset is $31.03\%$.$31.03\%.$

Step-by-step solution

Introduction

Natural gas is still a on effect, it's a somewhat durable solvent, while combinations of gaseous and ether might keep this much as high as 14 percent. basis points helium per capacity are combustible. Detonations of such a sort having increased alarmingly throughout mines and steelworks, leading across several industrial disasters.

Explanation (a)

a. Both pipe energy provider creates $145$millions of pounds of carbon dioxide.

It should always be emphasized that the one $1330$-pound heifer (manure) releases $5$tons of carbon every year.

Consequently, estimated number of cattle necessary fully counterbalance overall carbon pollution of such a particular utility company would indeed remark:

$\frac{145\text{million\_metric\_ton\_of}{\mathrm{CO}}_2}{5_{-}\text{metric\_ton\_of}{\mathrm{CO}}_2}$

$=29million$

Because counteract a single electrical lender's whole climate impact, a million cattle' load clean dung must still be buried.

Explanation (b)

b. Whereas a typical year and have 9 million heifers. That amount of carbon created by several cows' feces is:

$\text{9million cows}\times 5\text{metric ton of}{\mathrm{CO}}_2\text{per\_Cow}$

localid="1652509624814" $\text{=45\_metric\_ton\_of\_}{\mathrm{CO}}_2$

That percent of carbon pollution avoided if a local electricity provider paid for blankets that hide all cattle fertilizers is:

$\frac{{45}_{-}\text{metric\_ton\_of}{\mathrm{CO}}_2}{{145}_{-}\text{metric\_ton\_of\_}{\mathrm{CO}}_2}$

$=31.03\%$

As both a result, the amount of Dioxide emissions mitigated as localid="1652683418238" $31.03\%.$