Grammar’s Gassy Cows

Their or There

Use their to show that something belongs to a group of people or things: “The dogs wagged their tails.”

Use there to refer to a place or the existence of something: “You can set the box down over there” or “There aren’t any cookies left.”

The average American consumes 57 pounds of beef and more than 600 pounds of dairy products each year. Where does all that steak, yogurt, and cheese come from? Cows, of course. Lots and lots of cows.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, their/there are more than 90 million cows in America. And with all these cows comes a big, smelly problem: Their/There burps and flatulence (aka farts) are polluting the planet.

As cows—and people—digest food, their/there stomachs create a gas called methane. A single cow emits around 80 gallons of methane a day—more than enough to fill a large trash can! With 90 million cows roaming around  America . . . that’s a lot of methane.

When methane is released, it absorbs heat from the sun. Experts say that in large quantities, methane can warm the atmosphere and contribute to climate change.

Scientists in Argentina wanted to find out if it is possible to collect methane from cows and use it as fuel. They developed inflatable backpacks for cows that collect gas from the cows’ stomachs. The experiment was a success; they found that in one day, enough gas can be collected from one cow to power a small refrigerator for about 24 hours.

Currently, their/there are no plans for large-scale use of cow-fart packs, which means their/there is little chance that cow gas will be powering your family car anytime soon. But anything’s possible, right?