Here's an interesting article from the April issue of THE WEEK.
An Indiana farm community is alarmed over giant bubbles that have sprouted in lagoons of liquid manure. Farmer Tony Golstein has asked if he can cut holes in the growing, 20-foot tall bubbles, which were created when methane released by the manure got under plastic linings in the waste pools on his property. But neighbors fear that any hasty action could cause a devastating explosion. Last year, the gas in a single waste pit in Minnesota exploded, hurling a singed farmer 40 feet in the air. "We're concerned with just cutting a hole," says state official Bruce Palin. Obviously, you don't want to be smoking a cigarette when you open this thing up."
