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![handle is hein.journals/jeel9 and id is 1 raw text is:
SENATE BILL 1383 STINKS:
CALIFORNIA'S ATTEMPT TO REGULATE
DAIRY CATTLE METHANE EMISSIONS
Steffani Fausone *
Climate change is no longer a prediction; it is a reality. Part of the climate
change conversation revolves around increased methane emissions, focusing
on the agricultural industry as a culprit. To address these concerns, the
California legislature recently passed Senate Bill 1383, which aims to reduce
methane emissions from one agricultural industry in particular dairies.
This far-fetched bill is the first in the country to attempt to regulate methane
from dairy cattle. With so much uncertainty surrounding this bill's effects,
this Comment argues that the bill will hurt the dairy industry more than it
helps combat climate change. This Comment also proposes possible
alternatives to regulating dairy methane emissions while enabling the
California dairy industry to stay afloat.
INTRODUCTION
Just a couple hours north of Los Angeles lies the dusty crossroads of
Tulare County, where a distinct odor fills the air from east to west. As dairies
surround the perimeter of the county, the odor is common to locals. A whiff
of the money-making cattle serves as a reminder that the county is the number
one milk producer in the nation.1 Unbeknownst to many, the cows are also a
top producer of another substance-methane. The phrases climate change
and greenhouse gas bring to mind scenes of industrial factories releasing
black clouds of air pollution. However, a neglected and perhaps surprising
source of such gases is the world's dairy industry. Climate change is a local
and global threat.2 Like many other states, California has begun to experience
* Steffani Fausone is a 2020 J.D. Candidate at Texas A&M University School of
Law. She would like to thank Professor Vanessa Casado Perez for providing her
direction and encouragement through the entire process. She would also like to thank all
the farmers in the Central Valley who inspired this article.
1. USDA, DAIRY CATTLE AND MILK PRODUCTION 2 (2014),
https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Highlights/2014/DairyCattle_and_Milk_Producti
on_Highlights.pdf [https://penna.cc/3EBQ-M7QE].
2. See Mary D. Nichols, California's Climate Change Program: Lessons for the
Nation, 27 UCLA J. ENvTL. L. & POL'Y 185, 186 (2009),
https://escholarship.org/content/qt7tr3k4xp/qt7tr3k4xp.pdf [https://penna.cc/GG7U-
QV2L].](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/jeel9&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)