Relying on science to solve your woes is a fool's game. Thinking you can eat all you want, for instance, because there's a silver bullet diet pill out there somewhere that will one day knock off the pounds, may simply be a shortcut to the cemetery.

Still, it is impressive how often the wonders of research come through in a pinch,

The latest example surfaced in news reports this week. Some 15 Vermont farms have been working with researchers and have been feeding their cows flaxseed, alfalfa and grasses high in omega fatty acids to reduce their "carbon hoofprint."

Belching bovines, according to statistics, are the dairy industry's most egregious greenhouse gas producers, contributing 2 percent of the country's total greenhouse gas emissions. In short, when Bossy burps, the planet suffers. (For the record, it is not the south end of northbound cows that causes the most problems).

The upshot is researchers have found a feed mixture that rebalances the cows' rumen, the first stomach of ruminents, cutting down on gas emissions. Already, Vermont farmers are finding a reduction of 13 percent in greenhouse gases — good news for the dairy farmers in Cache County, who actually wrestle with such concerns.

Other solutions are also in the offing. One controversial plan would give cows growth hormones to make them produce more milk. The benefits would be the equivalent of pulling 400,000 automobiles off the roads. The downside is the hormone has been banned by the European Union and is suspected of causing illnesses in animals.

Still, it is nice to know that researchers are pressing ahead in search of solutions.

In the end, news stories about the "cow gas" breakthrough are serious pieces that lend themselves to silliness. Already, news about the new diet are generating many "utterly moo-ving" headlines.

People in the dairy industry, however, hope to get the last laugh when workable solutions to the problem emerge.

It's not a guarantee.

But given the track record of the world's researchers, no American milk drinker should bet against them.