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Comment by rcoder | Hacker News Reader

I don't disagree that livestock are a serious greenhouse gas factor, but goats may have multiple uses as a stock animal, including mowing, meat, and dairy. If these animals are raised as, say, a dairy herd, and incidentally feed on grass at corporate offices rather than private ranch land, that would seem to me to be a net win in terms of carbon emissions.

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That's correct. If the goats are being raised anyway then there's no net addition from the creatures themselves.

But as I said, I suspect that the truck(s) that move the goats around emit more CO2 than a lawnmower would. I'm guessing that per-mile emissions from a mower are much higher than a car, but that the truck is moving a much greater distance.

How do you propose to get the lawn mowers and crew to/from Google HQ?

A smaller herd of goats perpetually maintained on the grassy area in question would do the trick.

Upkeep of this smaller herd may be an issue however. How much husbandry do goats need?

Not much. As long as you have a fence to stop them running out into the road, goats will just wander around and munch grass all day. As will sheep. They need to be checked by a vet a couple of times a year.

You guys are confusing the requirements for industrial farming (where you're committed to deliver a certain amount of milk or meat every x weeks) with the basics of animal husbandry. As long as you don't have so many goats that they eat the grass faster than it grows back, everything will be just fine.

Keeping animals on a free range basis is extremely low-maintenance and low-impact. They just eat, poop, sit around and reproduce every so often.

"They just eat, poop, sit around and reproduce every so often." - where do I apply?

Yeah, but goats are escape artists

I raise chickens and have looked into having goats for milk (not this year: don't have the time) and fencing is a major issue. One of my neighbors has goats and they are always getting out.

A couple people in a truck with a couple lawn mowers would produce fewer emissions than a goat transport.

In any case, I believe the point he's trying to make is that it's not an obvious net win in terms of carbon emissions.

Then again, if you eventually sell the goats a for food into the local market you are likely to reduce emissions on food transport.

Of course, I have no idea what the demand for goat is in that area (surely there are some Indian restaurants that can do a "mutton" curry), or whether the US has the same idiotic regulations that the EU does that forces the shipment of animals for slaughter.....

This may be inaccurate. Due to the simpler engine design of a mower combined with the pollution curbing technology in use in cars and trucks (such as catalytic converters), mowers can be much worse.

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Story?id=98532&page=1

It's not a multi-day journey for the truck, whereas the lawnmower is likely to be running all day for several days. The distance is irrelevant, since a lawnmower can't travel at the same speed as a truck. Additionally, lawnmowers generally use 2 stroke engines which are inefficient and extremely noisy.

> Additionally, lawnmowers generally use 2 stroke engines which are inefficient and extremely noisy.

I can't find any 2 stroke mowers at Home Depot, Lowe's, OSH, or Sears. (The vast majority use Briggs and Stratton engines. B&S makes a few 2 stroke engines, but AFAIK, they're only used in snow blowers.) Where are you finding "generally"?

The trucks driven by lawn service folks generally get around 10-20 mpg. They don't spend hours on most job sites - most jobs are much less than an hour of mowing, with an hour or so doing other stuff. Then it's back in the truck for 15-30 minutes. The mowers less than half a gallon during that time and the trucks use about a gallon between jobs.

Methane argument I wonder what company or organization is raking in the dough with that one? Who is living off the hog by preaching animals and people farts are killing the environment?

Being green is great and it's big business. I agree with most of it, but the fart argument is ridiculous.. though not to the people making a living from it!

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