Methane
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
- ↑ https://outrider.org/climate-change/articles/methanes-moment-its-short-term-make-or-break-greenhouse-gas-fight-against
- ↑ https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/the-challenge-of-tracking-methane-emissions-and-why-they-are-higher-than-publicly-reported
- ↑ https://climatewiki.earth/wiki/index.php?title=Methane&action=edit&redlink=1