Methane

From Climate Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Action Imperatives

Fastest Solution

Likened to “carbon dioxide on steroids,” methane absorbs over 80 times more heat in the atmosphere than CO2 over 20 years, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Lowering methane levels in the atmosphere is “the single fastest way to tackle climate change,” says the UNEP.[1]

Emissions

Turtle Island

Underreporting

State and federal regulators rely on the oil and gas industry to detect and report its own methane emissions. Independent researches have shown using thermal imaging that in many locations, leaks are five times greater than the industry reports.[2]

see also: <https://www.iea.org/news/methane-emissions-from-the-energy-sector-are-70-higher-than-official-figures>

The Permian Basin

We are harming the entire planet and every person and every living thing on it by what we are doing here in Texas. And we call this a climate bomb - Sharon Wilson, Earthworks

The Permian Basin is currently the largest methane emitting oil and gas basin in the U.S. The extent and intensity of its shale fracking is releasing massive invisible plumes of methane, seemingly "everywhere." Flying over the Permian Basin with a spectrometer, the nonprofit Carbon Mapper found 1,100 super emitters of methane there.[3]

Sources