Vermont College goes green with cow manure

NEW YORK, Oct 27 (Reuters) Vermont's Green Mountain College is getting greener with a new programme that uses cow manure to generate power.

The 750-student Green Mountain College in Poultney aims to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by joining Central Vermont Public Service's Cow Power programme, which harvests waste from local farms.

''This initiative helps the college do its part to address global warming by reducing its carbon emissions by approximately 3500 metric tonnes per year, or the equivalent of removing 758 passenger cars, from use for a year,'' the liberal arts college said in a statement yesterday.

The programme capitalizes on a common byproduct from one of the northeastern state's top industries, with a typical Vermont dairy cow producing around 13 gallons of manure daily, according to Cow Power spokesman Steve Costello.

Vermont boasts the highest cow-to-people ratio in the United States, with 300,000 cattle and calves and just over 600,000 people, according to state figures.

High US fuel costs have spurred biofuel and other alternative energy and sustainable initiatives in the world's top oil consumer.

Reuters DKS VP0424