This blog has publicized some pretty ludicrous ways of stopping global warming in the past, but today’s might really be more than just a gas: Dr. Dieter Adam of New Zealand proposes to do it by genetically engineering “fuel-efficient” cows that don’t need to burp very much. According to The Age, this could end up being a $4 million project. The AFP explains:

The project aims to breed more efficient cows that convert their food into more milk and less methane, one of the greenhouse gases blamed for rising temperatures across the planet. …

In 2003, the New Zealand government attempted to impose a methane tax on farmers because their livestock was responsible for more than half the country’s greenhouse gas emissions. But the so-called “fart tax” was dropped after protests from farmers.

We’re not talking about an insignificant amount of methane here; Cecil of The Straight Dope says a single cow produces 400 quarts worth of burps every day. Cow poop also releases a lot of methane when it’s broken down; some farms have harnessed that power to produce their own electricity. Waste not, want not, I guess.