I've got a dirty passion: Dirty Jobs on Discovery Channel. It's a fascinating show that explores little known dirty jobs. The criteria for selection: the dirtier the better. This show works because the host, Mike Rowe, is perfect. He shows interest, respect, and humor for the people he meets and the jobs he gets into, and he's cute! OK, OK maybe I have a little crush on the guy. You watch the show and see if you can resist him. He has a knack for asking the questions that pop into my mind. I also appreciate the fact that he seems genuinely interested and respectful of the people that he interviews. This is probably because the show relies on their viewers to send in suggestions. I know several people that watch it with their children so that their children learn more about the people and jobs that "make civilized life possible for the rest of us." That's from the shows opener. It's amazing some of the jobs out there and I was pleased to see the show getting more press this year.
Last week was one of my favorite episode because I simply LOVE people who love what they do, figure out how to do it differently from anybody else, and kinda make the world a better place for everybody. Such is the case with the episode about Poo Pot Making. This episode is about the Freund's dairy farm in Connecticut. They are second generation dairy farmers. The picture is of Eugene (father), and brothers Matt and Ben. Matt and Ben have figured out how to use all the parts of cow poo. They make a product called Cow Pots that I love. It's a planter pot that you plant in the ground with the plant. It will feed the plant as it dissolves. This is a great use of cow manure.Why is that a big deal? Well, I'll tell you. Cows excrete a lot of poo. If you're not using it; you're trying to figure out how to get handle it in an environmentally friendly way. Matt and Ben figured out how to separate the solids from the liquid in the poo (OK, I just love typing that word, and I like the spelling poo better than pooh. For real fun, look the word up at dictionary.com. OK, I'm juvenile, so?), they make the pots from the solids (which do NOT smell). When Matt was trying to figure out how to make the manure solids glue together, he started with Elmer's glue and put them in his wife's toaster oven. AND HE'S STILL ALIVE?
By the way, they heat their farm house and all barns from the methane gas from the manure. The liquid ends up as fertilizer back on the plants grown to feed the cows. When Mike (from Dirty Jobs) called Matt a genius, Matt shyly said he didn't think he was a genius because a genius would not stand ankle-deep in poo all day. Mike said, then you're a visionary and Matt seemed to like that. Matt was deeply concerned that his cows get their due. He said, "The cows give us everything we use." Mike said, "You love you're cows, don't you?" Matt answered shyly, "I love my cows." Well Matt, I love your passion for what you do and your visionary ability to take a problem and make it an asset. On the show they said that each cow produces 150 lbs. of poo a day!!! There are an estimated 14 million cows in America. Imagine harnessing that methane energy! Please go to the Cow Pots web-site and buy their pots. The show is going to re-air on the Discovery Channel on Monday, January 22 at 8:00 p.m. It's the second segment so check it out. Hey I wonder if I can get methane gas from the cat poo my three little darlings leave me everyday? By next year, they may just be heating the house.
Jann