From an article in the Patriot News:
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, pig, chicken and cattle wastes have polluted 35,000 miles of rivers and contaminated groundwater in 17 states. Cesspool lagoons leak and emit dangerous and toxic bacteria and gases such as ammonia, methane and hydrogen sulfide.
From Collapse:
Another form [of soil salinization] arises from an industrial method to extract methane for natural gas from coal beds by drilling into the coal and pumping out water to let methan escape to the surface. Unfortunately, the water contains dissolved salt.
So let me get this straight: in America we are letting vast cesspools on huge factory farms pollute the air with methane (which, though a greenhouse gas, is a useful form of energy) and then we're instead letting companies go drill for methane, causing more pollution? Hello?
It's really enough to drive a person crazy. I am so not allowed to think about this until school's out.