Goats Keep Grass Short in Maryland

Some 40 goats are munching on about 8 acres of grass at a road construction site near Hempstead, Md.

The State Highway Administration put them there because cutting the grass with mowers would have harmed the habitats of the bog turtles who live there. Bog turtles are an endangered species.

Cost of the goats: $10,000 for two years.

Gasoline consumption: zero.

Oil consumption: zero. (Unless you count the fuel used by the vehicles that transport the goats to and from the site.)

Emissions: natural fertilizer; methane (but only about 13% of a cow's emission of the gas, which is 80-110 kg per year).

I'm all for the goats.