this sounds like an Onion article... i wish it were

[raggedyanndy]

Tax cows, hogs for passing gas, burping?
EPA proposes doing so due to methane's impact as a greenhouse gasBelching and gaseous cows and hogs could start costing them money if a federal proposal to charge fees for air-polluting animals becomes law

Comments

[elarbee]

They tried passing a law to this effect in Estonia. The farmers protested - the dairy industry is one of the country's biggest. But to be honest, Estonian dairy is quite superior to its U.S. equivalent.

[anydoppelganger]

Yeah, forget about all the cars and the factories; global warming is TOTALLY caused by cow burps.

Actually, methane due to animal agriculture is a huge source for global warming. There are hundreds of millions of livestock around the world. The reduction of the livestock industry would greatly decrease our carbon footprint.

[raggedyanndy]

I think the real problem is that this would adversely affect small farms, putting them out of business, and big factory farms would just take over. Eh, what can I say - I'm from Wisconsin; I'm sensitive about cows.

[textualdeviance]

So limit it to farms with more than 100 head.