Tax Those Air-Polluting Smelly Cows And Hogs

Really, who comes up with this stuff?

For farmers, this stinks: Belching and gaseous cows and hogs could start costing them money if a federal proposal to charge fees for air-polluting animals becomes law.

Farmers so far are turning their noses up at the notion, which is one of several put forward by the Environmental Protection Agency after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that greenhouse gases emitted by belching and flatulence amounts to air pollution.

“This is one of the most ridiculous things the federal government has tried to do,” said Alabama Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks, an outspoken opponent of the proposal.

But, they did something similar in California. And, now, Mary Nichols, chair of the California Air Resources Board is now being considered by President-elect Obama to be administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Gas-X for cows to avoid taxation?