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posted by Fnord666 on Friday August 30 2019, @06:33AM   Printer-friendly
from the it's-not-just-cow-farts dept.

Levels of methane—the second biggest contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide—have spiked in the atmosphere in the past decade. And a study says fracking in North America could be partly to blame.

The gas is linked to climate change, as well as ground-level ozone levels that can harm agriculture. It can also trigger a range of health problems, including chest pains, as well as reducing lung function and worsening conditions such as bronchitis, emphysema and asthma.

[...] For the new study, Howarth looked at existing research on the levels of certain carbon isotopes of atmospheric methane to find a potential source, and created an equation to investigate the link.

Methane is a compound made up of carbon and hydrogen. While methane released in the late 20th century was enriched with the carbon isotope 13C, Howarth highlights methane released in recent years features lower levels. That's because the methane in shale gas has depleted levels of the isotope when compared with conventional natural gas or fossil fuels such as coal, he explained.

This lead Howarth to conclude: "The commercialization of shale gas and oil in the 21st century has dramatically increased global methane emissions."

[...] This could help the commitment of the Paris Agreement be met.

[...] "If we can stop pouring methane into the atmosphere, it will dissipate. It goes away pretty quickly, compared to carbon dioxide. It's the low-hanging fruit to slow global warming."


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  • (Score: 1) by NickM on Friday August 30 2019, @04:46PM

    by NickM (2867) on Friday August 30 2019, @04:46PM (#887819) Journal
    Methane is renewable, I don't know about ethane, propane and butane (the other major component of natural gas minus impurities) but I know that you can use methane + energy to produce them but it is not economical to do so. Cattle produce 40% of the atmospheric methane according to https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/methane/. [nationalgeographic.com] It could probably be harvested it if methane was better priced.
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